Siddaramaiah visits Shivamogga blast site

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday visited the quarry in Shivamogga's Hunasodu village where at least six people were killed after an explosion.

"Illegal minings is rampant in our state. These things need to be taken into consideration by the government," he said during his visit.

On the day of the incident, January 22, he had tweeted, "Very pained to know about the death of labourers in Shivamogga, due to explosion of truck carrying gelatin. I urge the Chief Minister to initiate an impartial and strict enquiry about the incident, and punish the guilty. My deepest condolences to the family members of the victims," he said.

The site was earlier visited by the current Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased victims of the incident.

While visiting the site of the blast in Hunasodu village, where a gelatin-laden truck exploded on Thursday, Yediyurappa said that illegal mining should be stopped across the state.

"If anyone is running mining operations illegally, they should immediately submit an application and the department concerned will verify it," he said.

Five of the six recovered bodies of the victims of the Shivamogga blast incident have been identified and handed over to their families.

( With inputs from ANI )