The bodies of the three workers, who were trapped following the collapse of a coal hopper at the Dalmia cement factory at Rajgangpur in Sundergarh district on January 16, were recovered on Saturday morning.

Odisha government on Saturday sealed the captive power plant of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) factory at Rajgangpur in Sundergarh district, about 450km from Bhubaneswar.

Additional district magistrate Abhimanyu Majhi said: “We have closed down the captive power plant following the direction of the factory and boiler department. The plants will remain closed till the probe is complete about how the accident took place and led to the death of the workers.”

Sources said the mishap took place during the coal stocking process. It happened when around a dozen workers, including women, were working at the site. The workers were trapped under a heap of coal.

A rescue team with earthmovers and other heavy equipment rushed to the spot and launched a rescue operation after being informed about the mishap.

Personnel of the fire service department, Odisha Disaster Rapid Action Force (ODRAF) and local police teams carried out the rescue operation. Over 60 other workers were safely rescued on the day of the accident, officials said. The three bodies were retrieved after the rescue team cleaned the site on Saturday morning.

The deceased have been identified as Susanta Rout, 58, Ranjit Bhol, 24, and Dashrath Patra, 42, who were engaged by a contractor at the captive power plant in Rajgangpur, the police said.

The local tehsildar reached the site after locals gathered and started raising slogans against the company officials.

The workers, who had gathered at the main gate of the factory, held the plant authorities responsible for the mishap. They claimed the authorities had ignored the demand for assessing the condition and structural status of the coal hopper.

The Odisha government has also launched a separate probe into how the accident occurred.

The Dalmia Cement (Bharat) in a release said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic incident at the Captive Power Plant in Rajgangpur. We express our heartfelt condolences to the families of the three workers who lost their lives in this incident. We are extending full support to the bereaved families in close coordination with the district administration, including education, livelihood and compensation.”

The coal hopper was operated by a third-party vendor engaged by Dalmia Cement, the company had earlier said in a statement. Officials said the kith and kin of the workers will get jobs and a compensation of ₹40 lakh.

Additional reporting by PTI