Mine owner, employee held in Andhra limestone quarry explosion case

Kadapa, May 10 : The Andhra Pradesh police have arrested two persons in connection with the massive explosions that rocked a limestone quarry in Kadapa district.
Speaking to the media on Monday, district Superintendent of Police, Anburajan, said that one of the mine owners, Nageswar Reddy, and a worker named Raghunatha Reddy have been arrested in connection with the explosions that occurred on Saturday, leaving 10 people dead.
Anburajan said the explosions took place when gelatine sticks were being unloaded from a car. He said that nearly a thousand gelatine sticks had been transported from the Pulivendula town to the limestone quarry located near Mamillapalle village.
The officer said that their probe has revealed that the mine owners did not have the requisite permission to transport the explosives. The limestone quarry owners had also begun mining without obtaining the requisite permissions, Anburajan said.
The district police plan to take some more people into custody for interrogation, he said.
The mishap had occurred on Saturday near Mamillapalle village in Kalasapadu mandal when the labourers were unloading gelatin sticks from a vehicle for using them at a limestone quarry.
The state government had on Sunday announced a high-level inquiry into the incident.(IANS)