The roof collapsed at the JK Cement Factory in Panna, Madhya Pradesh
The roof collapsed at the JK Cement Factory in Panna, Madhya Pradesh(Photo | Screengrab)

Four dead, 15 injured as roof collapses at JK Cement Factory in Madhya Pradesh

JK Cement management will provide Rs 18 lakh compensation to each deceased worker's dependents, along with Rs 4 lakh insurance. The 15 injured will receive Rs 1 lakh each, and the company will cover their medical expenses.
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BHOPAL: A major mishap during the construction of a new building at the JK Cement Plant in Panna district of Madhya Pradesh, killed four labourers from Bihar and MP and injured 15 others on Thursday morning.

The mishap happened on the seventh floor of the new building (second unit-project work) while work was underway to lay the roof. Suddenly, the shuttering supporting the roof slab gave way, causing it to collapse and trapping several labourers.

Upon receiving information from the cement plant’s management, police and State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) teams from Panna district and neighbouring districts were deployed to rescue the laborers trapped beneath the collapsed shuttering.

However, the lives of four labourers couldn’t be saved. The four labourers have been identified as Ansar, Masood and Musafir from Bihar’s Purnia district (aged between 34 and 36 years) and Rohit Khare (32) who hailed from the same Panna district.

At least 15 other labourers who were trapped under the collapsed shuttering were rushed to hospitals in adjoining Katni district.

While a case is being registered against the supervisors/contractors who were getting the work carried out, a probe panel composed of experts from the public works department has been constituted to investigate the entire mishap.

“Whoever else is found at fault in the investigation by the probe panel, will also face criminal prosecution,” Panna district police superintendent Sai Krishna Thota told the TNIE.

The family members of the deceased labourers were brought to the cement plant and in consultation with the administrative and police officials present there, the JK Cement management has agreed to pay Rs 18 lakh compensation to the dependents of each of the deceased, besides the insurance money of Rs 4 lakh each. An additional sum of Rs 50,000 will be paid by the company for the funeral/cremation.

Each of the 15 injured will get Rs one lakh each from the company, which has also agreed to cover all the medical expenses for their treatment.

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