Rescue operations continued on Tuesday, March 8, at the underground coal mine run by Singareni Collieries Company Ltd in Peddapalli district, where four people are still trapped following an accident. Efforts are underway to rescue the remaining four people. The rescue team is manually removing the debris, police said. The incident occurred at about 2 pm on Monday, March 7, when a portion of the roof of the mine collapsed during supporting work.
While an official announcement on the casualties is yet to be made, the four persons still trapped — three coal miners and a manager of SCCL — are feared to have died in the mishap in Ramagundam in Peddapalli district, which is around 250 kms away from state capital Hyderabad. The mishap occurred following a roof collapse in the mine as coal was being brought to the surface, company officials said. The miners were busy in coal excavation works at the time of the accident, eyewitnesses said.
Seven people got trapped under the debris and subsequently three of them were rescued, police said, adding those rescued were shifted to a hospital. Two people, an overman and an operator were rescued earlier March 7, company sources said.
According to police, the incident occurred at about 2 pm when supporting work at the Adriyala Longwall Project mine was underway. A portion of the roof of the mine caved in. Expressing shock over the incident, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao asked SCCL's chairman and managing director N Sridhar to provide all necessary medical assistance to those trapped under the rubble of the collapsed roof.
Alleging that the SCCL management was negligent about the safety of workmen, state BJP President and MP Bandi Sanjay Kumar said he has written to the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) to probe into the incident.
With PTI and IANS inputs