Aizawl (The Hawk): The next of kin of each person killed in the Mizoram stone quarry collapse will receive an ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Wednesday.
A PMO tweet attributed to Modi quoted him as saying, "My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones due to the tragic stone quarry collapse in Mizoram. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh would be given from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased, and the injured would be given Rs 50,000."
After a significant portion of a stone quarry collapsed on Monday afternoon at Maudarh village in southern Mizoram's Hnahthial district, a total of 11 bodies have been discovered as of Wednesday.
Vijoy Gurung, additional superintendent of police for the Hnahthial district, reported that intensive search efforts were being made to find one more body.
He claimed that late on Wednesday night, an excavator's cabin buried in debris was where the body of Ajoy Chakma, 25, was discovered.
The rescue operation is becoming very challenging as stone boulders, mudslides, and other obstacles are seriously hindering them, according to Gurung, who spoke to IANS. "The search operation team members are confident that they would be able to recover the body," Gurung said.
Twelve workers, the majority of whom were not from Mizoram, have been officially counted as having died in the accident that happened on Monday afternoon.
Five of the 12 workers, three from Assam, two each from Jharkhand and Mizoram, and three from West Bengal were reported in a report by the Deputy Commissioner of the Hnahthial district.
At least five earth excavators, a stone crusher, and a drilling machine, according to some residents of Maudarh village, were also completely buried beneath the debris.
The stone quarry has been in operation for 2.5 years and is situated about 160 km from the state capital Aizawl.
The State Disaster Response Force, Mizoram Armed Police, Border Security Force, Assam Rifles, and Young Mizo Association volunteers are all taking part in the rescue effort.
Stones are taken from the quarry by a private company named ABCI Infrastructures Pvt Ltd, which is building a road between Dawn village and Hnahthial.
(Inputs from Agencies)
