Aini Kotyari, six, of Sheri-7, Amrita Dhami, seven, of Sunsea-9 and Manoj Ojha, three, of Kharkada-3 were buried in the mine that was used by locals to extract sand. [break]
“A wide open space suitable for playing had been created due to regular extraction of sand and the children used to play there every day,” said Bhojraj Joshi, a local, over phone. Locals knew of the incident after passengers at the bus park nearby saw the collapse at around six in the evening.
Police and locals took out the bodies with the help of a bulldozer. They continued to search for other probable victims at the spot around 400 meters away from the District Administration Office till late in the evening but found no one. The dead bodies have been taken to the district hospital for autopsy.
Khalanga is situated around 400 meters away from Mahakali river. The locals of Khalanga-3 and 4, especially women and children, extract sand from the area and sell a sack of sand for Rs 40.
The dalit community is more reliant on the sand for a living and children as young as five years work there till evening.
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