Kharagpur: Two contract labourers were buried alive under a mound of earth that collapsed on them at a metallic factory in the Changual area under Kharagpur Local police station on Saturday.
The victims have been identified as Rahul Midya (27), a resident of Godapiasal in Salboni police station area, and Tapas Jana (40), a resident of Chandipur in East Midnapore.
The accident took place around 7am, when the two workers were scooping out earth at the factory site. Following the incident, officers from Kharagpur Local PS arrived at the spot. Despite the early-morning incident, police could retrieve the bodies only around 7.30 in the evening.
The deaths led to unrest among other workers, who staged a demonstration, demanding compensation for the bereaved families. The factory officials agreed to pay compensation, after which the bodies were transported to Kharagpur sub-divisional hospital for post-mortem.
Factory representative Bhaskar Choudhury confirmed that compensation would be paid in accordance with factory protocol. —Sujoy Khanra