PONDA/CURCHOREM | Dec 06, 2017: Khandepar locals heaved a sigh of relief when the body of ripper machine operator Manoj Naik was finally found today evening almost 36 hours after he was buried in the mining pit, while leveling the area at the Sesa Goa Vedanta mine on Friday evening.

According to Curchorem PI the body was recovered at around 6.30 pm after search operation conducted by personnel from Fire and Emergency Services, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and company’s experts.

“The body will be preserved at Goa Medical College, Bambolim or Hospicio Hospital, Margao to conduct post-mortem after conducting panchanama,” said PI Dessai.

Khandepar locals who used to visit the Codli mines from morning to evening from the day the tragedy occurred returned to their village in the evening as usual but rushed back to Codli Mines along with Manoj's brother and relatives after getting the news that Manoj's body was traced during the search operation.

A sad atmosphere had prevailed in Khandepar Village during the last three days after the tragedy had occurred. Manoj's friend Tulshidas Malkarnekar said Manoj was a friendly person in the village and loved by everyone.

He is survived by his father, wife and two young children.

Meanwhile earlier in the day Opposition Leader Chandrakant Babu Kavlekar visited the site and met the company's officials and advised them to take precautionary and safety measures in future after discussing about the tragic incident.

(Source: https://www.heraldgoa.in/)