Pathanamthitta, July 8: The operation to rescue a worker trapped under rocks following a landslide at a quarry site in this district, which commenced on Tuesday morning, was suspended temporarily in the afternoon. The decision to suspend rescue efforts was taken as more rocks continued to fall on top of the spot where the worker and the excavator he was operating are buried, the district administration said.

Despite the arrival of a big crane from Karunagappally, in Kollam district, the rescue work could not be resumed, officials said. They said the operation will commence after another big crane is brought from Alappuzha along with ropes from Karunagappally. The rescue operation, which was stopped on Monday after fresh landslides, commenced at 7 am on Tuesday. Quarry Collapse in Kerala: One Worker Killed, Rescue Efforts Halted After Fresh Landslide.

One worker was killed and another remained trapped under the rocks after a landslide at a quarry site in Payyanamon near Konni here. On Tuesday morning, four members of the special rescue team climbed down using ropes close to the accident site to examine the excavator under which the remaining worker is believed to be trapped. The rescuers removed some of the smaller rocks by hand from on top of the excavator and thereafter, climbed back to safety.

Kollam Quarry Collapse

They later told reporters that they did not hear any sound from inside the buried excavator. District Collector Prem Krishnan said that the rescuers climbed down to the trapped excavator to find spots where ropes could be hooked onto it to pull it out. "Besides that, we are getting a 30-tonne capacity crane from Karunagappally to pull out the excavator from the rocks. Additionally, as a back-up plan, we are also going to get a big Hitachi from Alappuzha to remove the rocks," he told reporters here. Mizoram Quarry Collapse: 21 Dead, Several Missing in Stone Quarry Mishap in Aizawl; Heavy Rain Adds to Woes (Watch Videos).

He also said that the rescuers could not tell if anyone was inside the excavator's cabin because of the huge rocks on top of it. The tragic incident happened when a section of rock and soil suddenly collapsed onto an excavator during the quarrying work. Two workers from Odisha -- Mahadev and Ajay Rai -- were inside the machine at the time of the accident.

One body had been recovered, but the victim had not yet been formally identified. The workers had just returned to their shift after lunch when the rocks gave way. A specialised 27-member team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), led by Commander Sanjay Singh Malsuni, reached the site on Monday from Thiruvalla to help the rescue mission.