Eight labourers killed in Himachal

SHIMLA - Eight labourers, all belonging to Uttar Pradesh, were killed when a wall of their temporary hutment caved in early Friday due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district, officials said.

As the labourers were sleeping at around 3 a.m., the common wall of the house in Sataun village, some 250 km from here, collapsed when a mound of limestone stored in its vicinity dislodged due to the rain and struck against it, Deputy Commissioner Padam Singh Chauhan told IANS over telephone.

He said the labourers, in the age group of 19-35 years, were buried under heaps of limestone. Their bodies were retrieved from the debris.

The victims were employed in a dumping yard of mine stones at Sataun, known for limestone mining.

Superintendent of Police P.D. Prasad said a case for endangering the life or personal safety of others and causing death by negligence was registered against the owners of Himalaya Chemicals and Vasu Chemicals.

He said the labourers were buried under heaps of limestone stored in the dumping yard of Vasu Chemicals.

“Prima facie it seems that the wall collapsed due to heavy load of limestone stored along the wall by Vasu Chemicals,” he said.

It took several hours to extricate the bodies of the victims, who belonged to Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh.

The government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident and announced a compensation of Rs.100,000 to the next of kin of the victims, Chauhan added.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Urmila Singh and Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal have expressed grief over the death of the labourers.