Rourkela: The police, ODRAF and fire officials in a joint operation Friday afternoon recovered the bodies of two men, who had gone missing in the tunnel of the Rourkela Steel Plant during an attempt to loot steel material.
With the recovery of two bodies, the total number of bodies recovered in the mishap has reached three while two others are yet to be traced. The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained.
Search and rescue operations are underway to locate the others, the rescue team personnel said adding they would be traced soon.
The members of rescue operation team had recovered the body of a youth from the tunnel after an eight-hour long effort June 9.
The team has been into the operation for the past six days, but there was no significant improvement in the search till Friday afternoon. Later, it spotted the two bodies among the filth in the tunnel and recovered them.
Meanwhile, the digging of the tunnel has emanated foul smell in the area, triggering resentment among locals. The rescue team has also blocked the Deogaon-Sarana square road, affecting the movement of locals.
As per sources, the youths hailing from Sitalapada slum had gone missing in the tunnel (Outfall-9) of the plant June 3 while they had gone inside the tunnel to steal steel materials of the plant, but the matter came to the fore only after family members of one of the victims lodged a complaint regarding the matter at Uditnagar police station June 8.
Since then, the rescue team comprising RSP technical staff, fire tenders and local police have been trying to trace the bodies.
PNN
