India: 4 dead, 2 rescued in quarry accident, 8-day search & rescue effort ends

In a tragic end to a quarry accident that occurred in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the mortal remains of the fourth individual were retrieved on Sunday night. The accident was caused after unstable boulders tumbled down into a 300-feet-deep, 50-feet-wide quarry where workers were operating heavy vehicles, loading rocks etc, on Saturday (14th May) night.

While the district Police and Fi Service in Tirunelveli were the first responders to the accident, a 30-member team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was also pressed into action from the day after the accident.

There had been a breakthrough in the initial days when NDRF personnel had recovered three persons alive. However, one of them succumbed to his injuries after reaching the hospital. Thereafter, owing to the challenges in clearing the heavy debris, further risks of falling rocks and resultant delays, none else could be rescued alive.

According to the NDRF personnel, they had been utilizing Collapsed Structure Search and Rescue equipment, which includes Heartbeat detectors and thermal imaging cameras that can be used to locate and trace any signs of life under the debris.

However, three days into the search and rescue operation, hope began to fade regarding the possibility of recovering trapped workers alive. Of the total six workers who had been trapped, only two have been recovered alive and are recuperating, whereas, the mortal remains of four others were recovered.

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