Massive Explosion At Illegal Stone Quarry In Odisha Leaves 2 Dead, Several Feared Trapped

Dhenkanal: At least two workers were killed and several feared trapped, in a massive explosion at a stone quarry near Gopalpur village in Odisha on Saturday. The quarry is located under the jurisdiction of the Motanga police station, in Dhenkanal district. Preliminary reports suggest that the labourers were engaged in routine stone quarrying work at the time of the fatal explosion.

Speaking to reporters, District Magistrate Ashish Ishwar Patil said, "We received information at 7 am that a blast had occurred in a stone quarry. So far, the bodies of two people have been recovered. One is from Balasore and the other is from Keonjhar. The rescue operation is still underway."

The Odapada Tehsildar and police personnel from the Motanga police station rushed to the quarry site and initiated a preliminary investigation as soon as they received information about the blast. The area was subsequently cordoned off, police personnel were deployed and entry was restricted to the blast site.

Several senior government officials, including the tehsildar, the Inspector-In-Charge of Motanga police station and other senior police officers, remained at the scene overnight to access the situation, trying to ascertain if any labourers were injured or trapped inside following the explosion. However, no official casualty figures have been released till the time of filing of the report.

No Valid Permission For Blasting

During the preliminary assessment, it came to light that the stone quarry did not have a valid permission for blasting. Official sources have confirmed that the Dhenkanal District Mining Office had even issued a letter to the lessee on September 8, 2025, directing the closure of the quarry, citing lack of permission for blasting. However, despite these steps, reports suggest that blasting activities continued unabated at the site, in violation of the rules. Following the incident, the district mining officer and the concerned lessee were not available for comment at the time of reporting.

Reports indicate that a portion of the ground, inside the quarry, collapsed after the explosion, leading to the causalities. It is feared that the death toll may increase as it is feared that some labourers may still be trapped under the debris.

Nabaghan Malik, an employee of the fire department, confirmed that the explosion took place on Saturday night. Following instructions from the district fire department, seven fire department teams arrived at the site Sunday morning.

According to reports, large boulders are still scattered all over the place and it seems that several labourers may be trapped underneath. The rescue operation is ongoing and a special dog squad has been called in from Angul, to help determine how many people may be trapped inside.

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