3 more killed, Sylhet stone extraction on

Three more workers were killed as a big chunk of earth fell on them at a stone quarry of Sylhet's Companiganj upazila on Wednesday.

This incident happened three days after five stone workers had been crushed to death in a similar incident at another quarry in the upazila.

Dilip Nath, inspector (investigation) of Companiganj Police Station, said around 11:00am on Wednesday, the earth on the edge of the pit collapsed when some workers were extracting stones illegally from Shah Arefin Tila, leaving five injured.

Of them, Kancha Miah, 60, of Sunamganj, died on the way to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital that afternoon, the police official said, adding that the bodies of two others were recovered around 1:00am yesterday.

The two victims are Jahir Hossain, 36, and Afaz Uddin, 35, of Sunamganj.

Stone traders tried to hide the deaths as they sent Kancha's body to his ancestral home in Sunamganj without informing police. On information, South Sunamganj police recovered the body and sent it to Sunamganj Sadar Hospital morgue for an autopsy, the inspector said.

One of the wounded, Abdul Gani, was admitted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, the police official said.

Meanwhile, police detained Kala Mia who hired the workers for extracting stone.

On February 25, five workers were killed as a massive chunk of earth fell on them in a stone quarry at Kalairag of Companiganj.

The death toll from stone quarry accidents has stood at 20 in the first two months of the year, according to media reports.