Seven labourers, including three women, were feared dead when an illegal quartz mine in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district, where they were working, caved in on Wednesday. Two bodies were pulled out while five were buried deep under the rubble till late evening.
The mishap took place at an illegal mining site for quartz stones near Lachhuda village under the Asind Police Station area in Bhilwara. Though the Mines Department had seized the quarry and its equipment about three months ago, the owners restarted the operations after their release from jail last week.
Efforts were underway to rescue the remaining workers or retrieve bodies, while officials feared that they could be buried at a depth of 50 to 80 feet from the ground level.
The villagers staged a protest after the accident, alleging that the administration had failed to take timely action to stop illegal mining despite being informed about the resumption of activities at the site. There was no fencing or any other structure for protection around the mining area.
