4 labourers die, 20 hurt as portion of rice mill collapses in Taroari

Taroari (Karnal), April 18

Four labourers were killed and 20 injured as a portion of a three-storeyed building of a rice mill collapsed in Taroari near here early this morning.

The incident took place at around 3 am at the Shiv Shakti rice mill. There were 24 rooms and one verandah on each floor. The portion of the verandah of each floor collapsed, resulting in the tragic incident.

Around 150 labourers were sleeping in the building at the time of the mishap. The remaining people were rescued from windows of the rooms by rescue teams.

The deceased were identified as Sanjay Kumar (28), Chandan (27), Avdesh (22) and Pankaj (27), all residents of Samastipur, Bihar.

The injured included Vakil, Shyam, Chottu, Sita Ram, Devdhar, Bharat and Dharambir, who are undergoing treatment at the KCGMC, while Reet Lal was shifted to a private hospital.

Biru, Santosh, Suraj, Jatinder, Amar, Vikas, Dilbar, Jyotish Kumar, Bindeshwar, Rakesh, Parmod are undergoing treatment at the Taraori CHC and District Civil Hospital.

The cause behind the mishap was not known till the filing of this report.

Meanwhile, the district administration considered the building to be structurally unsafe, and the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Anish Yadav constituted a team, led by the SDM Karnal Anubhav Mehta, and comprising XENs PWD (B&R), to determine the reasons behind the incident.

“We will ensure compensation of Rs 8 lakh to the family of each deceased and Rs 1 lakh to each injured,” said Anish Yadav, DC.

Suspecting more people could be trapped under the rubble, the district authorities also called teams of the NDRF and SDRF, which also launched a rescue operation with the district teams. Ramdev Mehto, a contractor of the labourers, accused the mill owner of negligence due to which the incident took place. He alleged that the building was in a dilapidated state, where the labour was made to live. They had raised the issue with the owner in this regard, but to no avail, he alleged.

“On his complaint, the police registered a case against Ramesh Kumar Gupta, owner of the mill, under Sections 304 and 34 of the IPC,” said Shashank Kumar Sawan, SP.