Man drowns, another missing as tipper falls into Swan river

One person died while another is feared drowned after a tipper fell into Swan river at Bhallan village near Nangal on Tuesday night.

The incident took place when Satnam Singh, 21, of Bhalri village, and Pinku Sharma, 22, of Shahjahanpur in Uttar Pradesh — both working in a stone crusher firm — were returning after loading raw material in the tipper. The tipper overturned in the area dup up by the mining mafia and it fell into the river.

The tipper and Satnam’s body were fished out from the river with the help of machines and divers. Search is on to locate Pinku.

Local residents alleged that illegal mining is rampant in the area and at some places, the river bed has been dug deep. They said that many lives had been lost due to drowning in the dug up areas of the river filled with water.

They urged the Punjab government and district administration to check the illegal mining in the area.

RTI activist Dinesh Chadha has demanded an inquiry in to the incident.

Mining department sub-divisional officer Gurjit Singh refuted allegations and said he will visit the area to check illegal mining activity, if any.

Nangal station house officer Pawan Kumar said inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC have been initiated.