Four workers were killed after they were buried under a huge pile of coal slurry in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, on Saturday, in a tragic industrial accident that has caused outrage among the locals. The accident happened in Moonidih coal washery that is under the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
Police officials said that the accident had occurred when workers were loading coal slurry into trucks. In the process a vast mass of slurry all at once dropped down, and caught a number of labourers under it. Immediately rescue teams were sent and after an intensive search, the bodies of four workers were found in the rubble.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri and Hemlal Gope. The authorities have already launched an investigation to understand the precise reason of the accident and to evaluate whether safety standards were not violated.
After the incident, the grief soon gave way to anger as the relatives and friends of the victims, the local villagers, organized a demonstration outside the gate of the washery. They placed the bodies at the scene and they demanded good compensation, jobs in government to those who are dependent and strict measures on those who were found to be responsible of the negligence.
The tragedy has again brought up serious issues concerning the safety standards of workplaces in the region, in mining and allied operations. Officials have promised to take all the relevant measures after the investigation, but some efforts are being made to appease the agitating families.