Mysuru, 2 August

Three labourers were killed after a kiln collapsed when they were removing bricks at a manufacturing unit at Budahalli village in T Narasipura taluk of Mysuru district on Sunday.

Police said the deceased have been identified as Rajesh, 32, Nagaraju, 35, and Narayan, 40, all residents of Budahalli village. They were working in a brick manufacturing unit belonging to Siddaraju, a resident of the same village.   

According to preliminary investigations, the workers were engaged in routine work inside the kiln when the structure suddenly gave way, trapping Rajesh and Narayan under the debris. When Nagaraju went to rescue them, he became trapped as well. Local residents attempted to rescue them, but all three succumbed to their injuries before they could be pulled out.

Police shifted the bodies for postmortem to KR Hospital in Mysuru and registered a case against Siddaraju at the T. Narasipura Police station, launching a manhunt for him as he absconded after the incident.       

Probes are on to ascertain the exact cause of the collapse. Officials are also examining whether negligence contributed to the accident.