Four workers dead after roof collapses in Telangana’s Singareni coal mine

Officials said that since there was a considerable amount of rubble, rescue workers faced a tough task.
A coal mine with columns of smoke and dust seen in the air
A coal mine with columns of smoke and dust seen in the air
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Four miners of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) died after the roof of an underground mine collapsed in Telangana’s Mancherial district on Wednesday, November 10. The incident occurred at the SRP 3 incline underground mine in Srirampur area, and rescue workers began efforts to pull the four persons out. The incident occurred when miners were busy working in the first shift. The workers who died were identified as Krishna Reddy, 59, Lakshmaiah, 60, Chandrashekhar, and Narasimha Raju, 30. They were extracting coal when the roof suddenly collapsed.

Officials said that since there was a considerable amount of rubble, rescue workers faced a tough task. The accident sent shock waves among the families of the workers. Senior officials of the SCCL rushed to the scene and were monitoring rescue operations.

Recently in April, in a similar accident, two workers were killed after a roof collapsed at an underground coal mine in Kakatiya Khani (KTK), a group of mines operated by the SCCL.  Union leaders alleged that negligence of concerned senior officials caused the accident, as they failed to take action despite being informed about the condition of the roof around a month before the incident. Workers sloganeered in protest against the mine officials when the bodies of the workers, T Shankaraiah and Katham Narsaiah, were brought out. They had been working as support men in the construction of a cog when the roof collapsed.

In October 2020, Naveen, a 28-year-old coal-miner employed in the SCCL, died after a 1.8-metre roof collapsed in Vakilpalli underground mine in Ramagundam.

There have also been several incidents where SCCL coal mine workers have died due to explosions in the mines. In September 2020, one worker died and four others were severely injured in a blast at the RK5B underground mine in Srirampur area of Mancherial district. The blast was reportedly triggered due to a detonator misfiring. In June 2020, four SCCL coal mine workers were killed and three were injured in an explosion at a mine in Peddapalli district. Police said that explosives meant to blast the rocks went off accidentally, causing the tragedy.

With IANS inputs 

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