A tragic accident in Karnataka’s Vijayapura district claimed the lives of at least seven migrant workers from Bihar who were crushed under a massive pile of corn at a food processing unit on Monday evening. One worker was rescued unharmed, while three others escaped with injuries.
The workers were employed at a godown of a private company that processes corn in the Aliyabad industrial area. They were working under a huge machine that has funnels filled with corn attached to it. The machine collapsed partially, trapping the workers under about 100 tonnes of corn.
The police along with the fire brigade rushed to the spot immediately and launched a rescue operation. After an extensive effort which lasted for more than 16 hours, they managed to pull out the bodies of the eight deceased workers. The injured workers were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The Superintendent of Police of Vijayapura, Sonawane Rishikesh Bhagawan, confirmed the incident and said that all the victims were labourers from Bihar. He told PTI, “Three people were injured but they were not trapped. Of the trapped people, one was rescued while seven of them died. All of them are labourers.”
Another senior police official explained the cause of the accident and said, “The machine that processes corn has funnels laden with corns attached to it which are very, very heavy. The labourers working under it got trapped after it collapsed partially. These labourers got trapped under 100 tonnes of corn.”
The police have registered a case of negligence against the owner of the food processing unit and are investigating the matter. The district administration has also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased workers and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured workers.
The tragic incident exposes the plight of the migrant workers in India, who often face harsh and unsafe working conditions. COVID-19 pandemic, earlier, devastated their lives, as millions of them lost their jobs and were forced to return to their native places.
