Raipur (Chhattisgarh): Three people died while two others were critically injured, including a minor, after a portion of the pit collapsed while they were digging fly ash from a pit on Tuesday afternoon. The incident took place in the Siltara industrial area, on the outskirts of Chhattisgarh’s capital Raipur. A group of five people were engaged in the extraction of fly ash dumped by the industries in an open space, which is used by locals as fuel for cooking after filtering out the residuals of coal from the fly ash.
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According to sources, locals have been digging at the same place, hence, the pit shaped into a tunnel-like structure and when some heavyweight put on it, all of a sudden, it collapsed. In the incident, five people were buried in coal ash and were taken out by the police personnel, however, three died on the spot while two have been rushed to a hospital where they are undergoing treatment.
All the victims are residents of Sakara area on the outskirts of Raipur, including two women and a man. The deceased have been identified as Mohar Bai Manhare, Puneet Kumar Manhare and Pacho Gehre. A case was registered and are investigating the case, said Dharsiwan police station in-charge, Shivendra Singh Rajput. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel expressed grief over the incident and directed the officials to ensure the best medical care to the injured.
