Bhubaneswar, March 23: A labourer dismantling a defunct chimney at the Omfed plant died here this morning after falling through the structure from a height.

The incident took place at the Chandrasekharpur plant around 10.30am.

The contractual worker, Pandu Senapati, 48, a native of Bargarh district, was engaged in dismantling a defunct chimney of plant No. II in the Omfed factory when to mishap took place. While Senapati was trying to dismantle the 100-foot chimney with a gas cutter, a portion of it fell on him, which resulted in his fall and consequent death.

Another contractual worker, Ghanashyam Das of Bargarh district, who was also working with Senapati, narrowly escaped unhurt as he had come down to the ground just before the mishap.

Later, a team of fire officials rushed to the spot and recovered the body after nearly two hours. “The portion of the iron chimney that fell on him was so heavy that he died on the spot. We had to work hard to retrieve the body,” said assistant fire officer, Bhubaneswar, Ramesh Chandra Majhi.

Though the plant authorities remained tight-lipped about the incident, some eyewitnesses alleged that Senapati was working without a safety belt. The authorities did not allow newspersons inside the plant. Tension gripped the plant following the mishap and work in the plant had to be stopped. Later, police sent the body for post-mortem and registered a case.

This is the second incident of a worker’s death in Bhubaneswar after falling from a height. On March 5, Rahul Seikh, 19, a resident of Farakka in Bengal, had died after falling from the 17th floor of an under-construction building of the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation.

“In most cases, norms related to safety of workers are flouted,” said Manas Pradhan, a labour rights activist.