Explosion in house near quarry kills mother-son duo

Mangalore : A woman and her son, both quarry workers and hailing from Tamil Nadu were killed and three others  injured  in an explosion in a house located near a stone quarry at Nelligudde Aikala near Kinnigoli on Sunday May 4. The injured were neighbours of the deceased.

The deceased are Erichamma (53) and Paraman Uttandy (25), both from Salem. The explosion was such that the bodies of the two were mutilated. Their two room house made of cement and iron sheet roofing was ripped apart in the explosion.

Neigbours Nagaraj, his wife Yashoda and their 10 year old daughter were injured in the explosion. They have been admitted to the hospital and are said to be out of danger.

Though the exact cause of the explosion is not known, the suspicion is that explosives used in quarry might have been stocked in the house. Neighbours however suspect a gas cylinder in the house exploded. However, except for a gas cylinder regulator police did not find any other combustible material in the house.

There are around 20 families of quarry workers  residing in the vicinity in shed like houses and police will now try to ascertain if explosives are stored in these houses. A major casualty was averted as most of the workers were out on Sunday to buy groceries.

The deceased had shifted to Kinnigoli five years ago to work in the quarry. Erichamma’s another son Muruga had recently left for Tamil Nadu. She has three daughters, two of whom are married and the marriage of the third has been fixed, say some relatives of Erichamma.