K'taka White Stone Hill collapses during mining, several Bengal labourers feared trapped

Chamarajanagar, March 4 Several labourers from West Bengal were feared to be trapped inside the White Stone Hill caves of Madahalli village in Bilikallu quarry area near Chamarajanagar district's Gundlupet here on Friday.

The hill collapsed while miners were working inside the cave. As a result, big boulders of white stone rolled down the hill and collided with the tipper trucks and vehicles, causing them to overturn.

Several workers present there are feared to have been crushed under these boulders.

The police and the fire department personnel rushed to the spot to carry out operations along with the local villagers, to rescue trapped workers from inside the mine.

The incident took place on land belonging to Mahendrappa, a resident of Bommalapura in Karnataka. One Hakeem had taken the land on lease for mining. However, Superintendent of Police (SP) Shivakumar said illegal mining was being carried out in the area.

As per preliminary information, five labourers were inside the mine when the incident took place. While three of them have been rescued, two are missing.

However, according to the local people, many more workers were present at the site.

The rescue operation is still on,