Kendrapara, May 3: At least four migrant labourers from Satabhaya village in the district were killed in a blast at a plywood factory in Kerala’s Ernakulam region.

The deceased have been identified as Ashok Das, 21, Haladhar Das, 40, and Dhaneswar Swain, 32, from Satabhaya and Sahadeb Patra, 35, of Junagada village under Rajnagar block in Kendrapada district.

Sudarshan Rout, a former sarpanch of Satabhaya gram panchayat, said: “Local youths died in a blast at the workplace. The bodies were not been handed over to the relatives but were cremated in Kerala. The bereaved family members were deprived of performing the last rites.”

Kendrapara collector Nitin Bhanudas Jawale said: “A section of skilled workers from Satabhaya village had migrated to Kerala and were employed at a private plywood manufacturing unit located in Kadantara near Ernakulam city of the state. An accident had took place at the manufacturing site on April 16, in which four persons from Satabhaya had suffered serious burn injuries. Later, they succumbed to their injuries.”

“The local administration was informed of the incident only today. The matter has been taken up with the Ernakulam district collector and the superintendent of police. I have been told that a criminal case under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) has been registered against the plywood unit owner. The Kendrapara district administration is doing everything possible, so that the bereaved families are disbursed due compensation by the employers based in Kerala,” he said.

Nearly 200 skilled workers from Kendrapara are engaged in plywood units of Ernakulam.

The state government should take up the matter with its Kerala counterparts to ensure safe working conditions for the migrant workers, Rout said.