Berhampur: Three migrant labourers from Ganjam district were killed in a quarry explosion at Hathi Belagal village of Aluru block in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district on Friday.
Those who died have been identified as Durjya Nahak and Manoranjan Nahal of Bandha Tala Nuagaon and Bhimsen Nahak of Jharedi Radha Govindpur. Three migrant labourers have also suffered injury in the accident.
One of the injured Pandav Lenka of Bandha Tala Nuagaon village is undergoing treatment at Aluru government hospital.
Two other injured - Ram Chandra Nahak from Bandha Tala Nuagaon and Rajendra Nahak from Diandein - are also undergoing treatment at the hospital.
Pandav spoke to his wife Sumati, other family members and naib sarpanch of Jharedi Radha Govindpur Rohit Nahak over phone on Saturday.
Pandav said that the fire broke out after an LPG cylinder exploded in the quarry.
"The LPG cylinder burst when some labourers from Bihar were cooking under a tin shed. Thirty migrant workers from Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh shared space at the tin shed. The fire that broke out ignited detonators, which were stored there to blast the stone quarry, to explode with deafening sound," he said.
These migrant labourers got job at the private stone quarry through labour contractor Kailash Nahak of Bandha Tala Nuagaon.
Family members of some of the victims and a cop from Rambha police station have left for Andhra Pradesh on Sunday. Besides, Ganjam district labour officer Babu Charan Patra and the labour inspector of Chhatrapur have also left for Andhra Pradesh.
"The district administration has promised to bring the bodies home by Sunday night," said a victim's kin.
The explosion sparked off leaping flames that gutted three tractors, one excavator and the tin shed. So intense was the blast that dismembered limbs of those killed were found strewn around the quarry. The tremors were felt up to 10km away and cracks have developed in nearby houses, sources said.
Kurnool police chief J. Gopinath said: "The gelatine sticks stored in the quarry had exploded."
