Eight workers killed as massive rock collapses at Bengaluru stone quarry

Eight workers, mostly from Bihar, were killed after a massive granite rock collapsed at a stone quarry in Bengaluru South Taluk on Thursday (July 2), police said. According to the police, the tragedy occurred in the early morning at Madapattana, bordering Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru South district.

According to local sources, the workers, all daily-wage labourers, were engaged in their routine duties at the crusher unit. While excavation or transportation of rocks was being carried out using a Hitachi excavator, a huge rock from the upper section suddenly gave way and crashed down. The boulder fell directly on the workers, leading to the devastating accident.

As soon as the incident was reported, officers and personnel from the Tavarekere Police Station and rescue personnel rushed to the site. The area was cordoned off as officials began clearing debris and searching for any other workers who may have been trapped. The injured were shifted to a private hospital for treatment.

CM Shivakumar expresses grief over incident

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar expressed his grief over the incident.

"The incident in which seven workers lost their lives after a rock collapsed at a stone quarry in Madapattana village of Bengaluru South Taluk has caused me immense grief. I pray for eternal peace to the departed souls, and wish the injured a speedy recovery," he said in a post on X.

Shivakumar said, "It is the duty of quarry owners to ensure the life safety and security of workers engaged in quarry operations. The government will take appropriate action against quarries that violate regulations."

Mourning the demise of the labourers, he said, "We will issue fresh guidelines for quarrying activities across the state. I will ensure that no such incident occurs again."

Also Read: Quarry collapse in Andhra Pradesh kills six migrant workers from Odisha

He said he had directed all officials to the spot, that they were already there and were submitting reports.

"The first report indicates that the incident was not due to blasting, but due to soil erosion. I will get a detailed report on this," the chief minister said.

When reporters asked him about the ex gratia compensation, he said compensation is not the priority right now.

"We will certainly provide compensation to the families, there is no doubt about that. But my priority is to ensure that such incidents do not happen again in Karnataka," he said.

‘Will do whatever needed to prevent illegal quarrying’: Deputy CM

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said he will gather information, and if there is anything that pertains to the Revenue department, which is his portfolio, he would take immediate action.

"We need to find out who grants these sanctions. At present, it is the Deputy Commissioners and the officials of the Mining Department who grant them. We will examine the matter and take whatever action is necessary based on our findings," he said.

Also Read: Three workers killed in Tamil Nadu quarry explosion, bodies severely damaged

Expressing concern over illegalities in quarrying taking place across the state, the Deputy CM said he would do whatever is required to prevent it.

‘Bigwigs involved should not escape’: Yashwanthpur MLA

According to Yashwanthpur MLA ST Somashekar, the eighth labourer died in the hospital. He charged that he had been complaining about "illegal quarrying" for the past many years and raised the issue in the Karnataka Assembly.

Somashekar said some time ago, a leopard was killed due to the blast carried out by the quarry owners.

Also Read: Three more bodies recovered in Sonbhadra quarry collapse, toll now four

"In these illegalities, police, forest department, and mining department officials are involved who should be booked and tried. It is a serious matter that eight people have died," the MLA told reporters.

He also expressed his apprehension that the bigwigs involved in the case may escape. He demanded that the accused should not escape from the clutches of the law.

Toll may go up

According to those working on the spot, the toll may go up as the condition of some of the injured was critical. They said some of them may lose their limbs permanently. The exact number of those injured was still being verified.

The severity of the accident could be gauged from the fact that loading vehicles were completely mangled. A tractor on the site broke into pieces.

Also Read: One killed, several feared trapped as stone quarry collapses in UP's Sonbhadra

It is learnt that efforts were underway to inform the families of the deceased. A pall of gloom descended in the area due to the loud cries of the family members and friends of the victims and injured.

Further investigation has been taken up to ascertain the cause of the rock collapse and whether there was any negligence or violation of safety norms at the quarry, police added.