Chhattisgarh coalmine toll rises to 11

RAIPUR - The toll in a blast-hit coalmine in Chhattisgarh rose to 11 Wednesday with the recovery of the bodies of two trapped miners, a senior official said.

“Rescuers recovered bodies of two miners at the coalmine, taking the toll to 11,” Alok Awasthi, district collector of Koriya district, told IANS on phone.

There was an air blast in the Anjali Hill mine in Koriya district, over 400 km north of capital Raipur, May 6 while workers were trying to fix a carbon monoxide leak. The mine is owned by the South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL), the largest profit-making subsidiary of the public sector Coal India Ltd.

SECL spokesperson Alok Sinha said the accident has completely halted production at the blast-hit mine that had a daily output of 800-900 tonnes of superior grade coal.

“I can’t say when production will restart. The experts will assess the situation first and then decide upon reopening based on certain safety parameters,” Sinha said.

A panel of three Lok Sabha MPs, Saroj Pandey (Durg), Murarilal Singh (Surguja) and Vishnu Deo Sai (Raigarh), formed by Chhattisgarh’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) visited the blast-hit mine Wednesday to gather details about the cause of the accident.

The panel will also talk to family members of the victims to ensure adequate monetary compensation and other assistance for them. They will also meet district authorities and SECL management. The panel will submit a detailed report to the government.