Explosion at Illegal Dolomite Mine in Dhenkanal Kills Two; Rescue Ops Ongoing

Dhenkanal: Two bodies have been recovered so far from a dolomite quarry at Gopalpur under Motanga police station in Odisha’s Dhenkanal district following an explosion that occurred on Wednesday evening, officials said.

Rescue operations resumed at 7 am on Thursday after being suspended overnight due to poor visibility. Two fire service teams, personnel from the Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF), and a dog squad from Angul have been deployed at the site. JCB machines are being used to clear debris and trace any remaining bodies.

Dhenkanal Collector Ashish Ishwar Patil confirmed the recovery of two bodies and said investigations are underway to determine whether explosives were used in the blast. “One of the deceased is from Balasore, while the identity of the other is yet to be confirmed and may be from Mayurbhanj or Keonjhar,” he said.

According to the Collector, the mining operation had been suspended in September due to the absence of blasting permission, and the mine lease expired in December. “Despite this, mining activities continued even after the lease expiry. Legal action will be initiated for illegal mining,” he added.

The Dhenkanal Superintendent of Police and district officials reached the spot and are monitoring the situation. Authorities have not ruled out the presence of additional explosive materials inside the quarry, and the rescue-cum-search operation is continuing.