Daijiworld Media Network - Agartala

Agartala, Dec 17: A tragic accident claimed at least five lives and left three others injured after a brick kiln chimney collapsed on workers in Kamalpur area of Tripura’s Dhalai district on Wednesday, officials said.

The incident occurred while the kiln was operational. Three workers — Subal Debnath (55) and Pinku Shil (37) from Tripura, and Anil Gautam (49) from Uttar Pradesh — died on the spot when the structure gave way. Two other workers, Sajal Malakar (40) and Bidhu Sharma (45), who were critically injured in the collapse, later succumbed to their injuries at government hospitals.

The injured, including two workers from Jharkhand, were initially taken to nearby medical facilities and later referred to the state-run Govind Ballabh Pant Medical College and Hospital in Agartala for advanced treatment.

Rescue operations were launched immediately after the incident, with teams from the Fire and Emergency Services, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and local residents working together to retrieve the bodies and rescue the injured.

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha expressed condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to those injured.

Police detained the brick kiln owner, Souvik Paul, along with the kiln manager, and both are currently being held at Kamalpur Police Station as investigations continue. Dhalai district Superintendent of Police Mihir Lal Das and local BJP MLA Manoj Kanti Deb visited the site and oversaw the rescue efforts.

In a separate incident the same day, the body of a 19-year-old student was recovered from the Manu River in Unakoti district. Police said four youths had gone to bathe in the river on Tuesday; three were rescued by locals, while the student went missing and was later found dead by Fire and Emergency Services personnel.