NAGARKURNOOL: At least two labourers died and 14 others were injured, many of them seriously, when a blast took place at an under construction tunnel at Palamuru Rangareddy Lift Irrigation site between Yelluru and Regumanigadda villages in Nagarkurnool district on Wednesday.
The labourers belong to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The mishap occurred when lightening struck the under construction tunnel site which ended up in igniting the gelatin sticks stocked there for blasting works.
Officials said that a group of 16 labourers were engaged in preparatory works on the tunnel by taking up blasting works using explosive materials including gelatin sticks.On Wednesday evening, due to a sudden change in the weather, lightening struck the area and gelatin sticks exploded which resulted in the part of the tunnel wall collapsing killing two labourers and injuring 14 others. Police said huge gelatin and other explosive material was stocked at the site for blasting works.A majority of the 14 labourers were seriously injured and have been shifted to a corporate hospital in Hyderabad.
Ex gratia to kin of deceased
The state government has announced an ex gratia of Rs 14 lakh to the family of the deceased workers, according to panchayat minister Jupally Krishna Rao. The victims belonged to Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, Odisha and AP