VARANASI: At least 3 women were killed, while 2 others suffered injuries after being buried under debris of a mound in Kirwani village under the Myorpur police station area of Sonbhadra district on Monday.After taking stock of the incident site and rescue operation, Sonbhadra SP Abhishek Verma confirmed that Sadikunnesa, Anisha Khatun and Seeta were killed, while Phool Kumari and Nazimunnesa were given first aid after being rescued.Natives of Kirwani village were busy with their work on Monday morning when they heard the screams of women and ran towards the mound, where they went to collect mud. Villagers alerted police by dialling 112 and also started efforts to remove debris with locally available resources.Later, Myorpur police and a team of SDRF reached there, and a JCB was engaged to remove the debris. As the rescue operation progressed, 5 women were rescued in an unconscious state and rushed to hospital, where doctors declared Sadikunnesa, Anisha Khatoon and Seeta dead, and treatment of the injured women started.Later, CO Duddhi Rajesh Rai, the SDM and other senior officials also reached the spot. Officials said that the families of all these women were called. During the initial police investigation, it came to light that, as festivals like Holi and Eid are closing in, people here traditionally plaster and polish their homes with new mud.To collect fresh mud, the women went to the mound on the village outskirts, and when they were busy extracting it, a large portion of the mound collapsed and they were buried under the debris.The SP said that forest and land revenue department officials were asked to further examine the area where people collect mud from mounds, to initiate necessary precautions to avoid a recurrence of such an untoward incident.
