3 workers killed, minor critical after tent collapses in Keonjhar

Keonjhar: Three workers were killed and a minor worker was critically injured after a tent collapsed on them during a thunderstorm at Naranpur village under Town police limits here on Thursday afternoon. CM Mohan Charan Majhi expressed condolences to the bereaved families and announced an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

The victims were reportedly resting inside the tent pitched near a roofed structure when the storm struck around 2.30pm. The tent gave way, trapping them underneath. They suffered injuries after bamboo supports fell on them, and were suffocated.

On being alerted, fire service personnel from Keonjhar rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation. The workers were pulled out and shifted to the district headquarters hospital, where doctors declared three of them, Alok Chipindia, Sagar Nayak and Petu Nayak, all aged between 20 and 22, dead. The fourth injured person, aged 17, is undergoing treatment.

Police reached the spot and initiated an investigation. An unnatural death case has been registered and the bodies have been sent for postmortem, said IIC, Town police station, Srikanta Sahu.