PATHANAMTHITTA: After more than 24 hours of a perilous rescue operation, amid recurring rockslides and logistical hurdles, the body of the migrant worker who was trapped under boulders at the Chengalam quarry in Payyanamon near Konni was recovered on Tuesday night.
Ajay Kumar Rai, 38, of Simarla village in Bihar’s Begusarai district, was operating an excavator along with a co-worker when a massive rockfall buried them beneath rubble on Monday.
Rai’s body was retrieved using a long-boom excavator brought in from Alappuzha. The machine’s extended arm was crucial in reaching the remote and steep parts of the quarry that borders a forested area. The body of the co-worker, Mahadev Pradhan, 51, from Odisha, was recovered from the accident site on Monday night by the fire force special task force.
The rescue mission, led by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the district fire and rescue services team, had resumed on Tuesday morning, after a temporary suspension caused by continuous rock movement at the site. However, the operation hit another major delay in the afternoon, lasting nearly six hours, as officials awaited the arrival of heavy-duty equipment.
Initially, a crane expected from Karunagappally failed to reach the site on time due to logistical setbacks. Transportation of a hook required for its functioning from Kochi also encountered delays, further stalling the operation.
‘Team did everything possible under extremely risky conditions’
District Collector S Premkrishnan was at the site along with District Police Chief V G Vinod Kumar, Additional District Magistrate B Jyothi, and Deputy Collector R Rajalakshmi. “The team did everything possible under extremely risky conditions. Falling rocks continued to pose a major threat, but we were determined to bring closure to the family,” Premkrishnan said.
The emotional strain at the quarry site was evident. Rai’s brother, Udai, who had been waiting anxiously throughout the day, broke down upon confirmation of the recovery of the body.
“He had just sent money for his children’s school bags. He called me yesterday,” Udai said, his voice trembling. At one point, overwhelmed by grief and anger, he shouted at officials and threatened to enter the quarry pit himself.
Despite criticism over delays and coordination lapses, particularly from former MLA Joseph M Puthussery, the efforts of rescue personnel were widely acknowledged. “It’s a life, whether a migrant or Malayali, we must do everything to save him,” Puthussery said, while pointing to the time lost in bringing essential equipment to the site.
Describing the operation’s difficulty, a fire and rescue services official said: “It’s like rescuing someone from a 15 to 20-storey building. But instead of level floor, it’s all unstable, sliding rock.”