Another stone worker killed in Sylhet pit

A stone worker was killed at a stone quarry in Kalairag area of Companiganj upazila in Sylhet yesterday morning.

The deceased worker has been identified as Swapan, 32, son of Moharanjan of Notabari Batipara of Dimla in NilphamarI.

Shafiqur Rahman Khan, officer-in-charge of Companiganj Police Station said that police recovered the body after reaching the spot and sent it to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College for an autopsy.

Quoting other workers, he said the deceased worker was climbing up a slope carrying stones and died after slipping off the edge.

The stones he was carrying landed on him, killing him on the spot.

The workers were extracting stones after digging more than 30 metres into the ground although 10 metres is the maximum depth permitted.

A case is being prepared and will be filed with the station soon, the OC said.

As many as 32 workers died during stone extraction in five upazilas of Sylhet in 2017.  There have already been seven deaths in the first 10 days of January 2018.

However, the actual figure has never been confirmed by the authorities concerned.

Syed Mohammad Aminur Rahman, additional deputy commissioner of Sylhet, said that the administration is trying their level best to stop illegal stone extraction and control the rising death toll of stone workers.

It needs every concerned authorities' involvement, he added.