Sylhet: Three stone quarry workers were killed when part of a hillock collapsed on them while lifting stones from Bichanakandi in Gowainghat upazila early Friday.

Two of the deceased were Tola Mia, 25, and Zakir, 20, of Gulergaon village in Sunamganj.

Quoting locals, police said part of the hillock collapsed on some workers while lifting stones from Bichanakandi stone quarry near the kheyaghat area at the dead of night, leaving the three workers dead.

An influential gang has long been involved in lifting stones illegally from there, said Delwar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Gowainghat Police Station.

However, he said, police could not yet recover the bodies as those are believed to have been removed from the place.