GUNTUR/BERHAMPUR: In a shocking incident, six minors of Odisha were charred to death at a prawn farm in Lankavani Dibba of Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district on Thursday midnight. While five of the deceased are from Rayagada, one belongs to Gajapati district. The children were reportedly engaged as security guards at a prawn breeding and processing unit at Lankavani Dibba which comes under Repalle mandal of Guntur.
Their bodies were recovered by police on Friday. The minors were identified as Ram Murthy Gamang (14), Karunakar Sabar (14), Mohan Sabar (13), Pandab Sabar (17), Naveen Sabar (15) of Rayagada’s Gunupur and Mahendra Sabar (16) of Gajapati.
Sources said the six along with four others were sleeping in a shed where bleaching powder was stocked. Since it was raining heavily, they had closed the doors and sealed the gap at the bottom with clothes to prevent entry of water. When the rains didn’t stop, the four others left the shed.
However, the children sleeping inside became unconscious due to toxic gas coming from the bleaching powder stored inside. Meanwhile, due to the pounding rains, the overhead power cables accidentally snapped and fell on the shed. All the six children were electrocuted and their bodies badly burnt. On being informed, police reached the farm and shifted the bodies to Repalle government hospital for postmortem.
Rural SP Vishal Gunni inspected the area where the mishap took place. “We found that the six labourers were electrocuted after the power lines fell on the shed. However, the exact cause of their death is yet to be ascertained. Police and the forensic team immediately reached the spot and secured the spot. The team has collected some clues and sent those to lab. They also found bleaching powder and collected the samples. A thorough investigation is taking place,” the SP added.
Sources said parents of the deceased children have reached Lankavani Dibba. Following the incident, Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan expressed his condolences over the death of the six migrant workers. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also expressed grief over the incident and announced ex gratia of `2 lakh each to the bereaved families.