The Hindu : Front Page : 11 buried alive under a heap of slag

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 26, 2006
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11 buried alive under a heap of slag

Staff Correspondent

BELLARY: Eleven persons were buried alive under a heap of slag at Sultanpur in Sandur taluk of Bellary district on Saturday, while trying to salvage valuable contents from lorries carrying steel slag from the Jindal Steel Plant at Torangal. Fourteen persons were injured. The bodies were being extricated from the debris when this correspondent visited the spot.

Enquiries revealed that it had been a routine for the villagers of Sultanpur to rush towards lorries that carry slag from the factory for dumping it in the valley near the village. A large group, sometimes comprising even 100 people, would surround each of the lorries as they arrive near the valley. They climb on to the tipper before it empties the waste. Teams of villagers lift heavy slag in their bid to recover steel. They sell what is collected.

This has been a source of livelihood for many families of the village ever since the factory acquired the site and begun dumping the slag.

On Saturday, a slag-laden tipper arrived around 8.30 p.m.

A few of those who rushed towards it reportedly climbed on to it, eyewitnesses said. But soon, the lorry overturned, leading to the tragedy, according to the police.

The injured, some of whom suffered burns, have been shifted to Vijayanagar Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital. Superintendent of Police Amrit Paul and Additional Superintendent of Police D.C. Rajappa, supervised the rescue operations.

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