Mizoram stone quarry disaster: Mamata Banerjee announces jobs and compensation for victim's kin

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on November 16 expressed grief over the loss of lives due to the stone quarry incident in Mizoram's Hnahthial district and announced compensation for the victim's kin. 

She further said that the West Bengal government will also provide jobs to the kin of the deceased.

''Deeply anguished by the stone quarry collapse in Mizoram that has resulted in the death of 12 workers, including 5 from WB. We're in touch with the Govt of Mizoram to bring back the bodies and have assured the families of support.

My condolences to those who lost their loved ones,'' she tweeted.
   
Earlier in the day, expressing deep grief over the loss of lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced ex-gratia for the kin of each deceased.

''My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones due to the tragic stone quarry collapse in Mizoram. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh would be given from PMNRF to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000: PM @narendramodi,'' the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) tweeted.

Meanwhile, two more bodies have recovered so far from the disaster site and they have been identified as Shofiqul Islam (26), a resident of Jaleswar Bill, Goalpara, Assam, and Kahamrai (49), a resident of Zawlpui, Lunglei district, Mizoram.

As per sources, the two dead bodies have been brought to the District Hospital in Mizoram for Post Mortem Examination following which the bodies will be handed over to the ABCI authority after necessary protocols are done.

A total of 10 bodies have been recovered out of the 12 trapped labourers while rescue operations continue to recover the other two missing labourers.

As per officials, the eight bodies that were recovered earlier and being transported to Aizawl reached at 12:30 am on November 16 for embalming and packing of dead bodies. Thereafter, the bodies will further proceed to Lengpui Airport at 8:00 am.

Assam Rifles party was one of the first responders to reach the incident site along with the medical team and helped in the clearing of debris and recovery of bodies.

So far, ten people have lost their lives while two others still missing after a stone quarry collapsed in Mizoram’s Hnahthial district, an official statement said on November 15.