MCL coal mine tragedy toll rises to ten

More people feared buried in overburden dump collapse, rescue operation on

The death toll in the overburden dump collapse at Basundhara colliery in Sundergarh district of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL), a subsidiary of Coal India, has gone up to 10 with one more body being recovered from the debris.

On Saturday nine deaths were reported after the overburden dump of the coal mine caved in, burying many people who were collecting residual coal left in the discarded stack, a normal practice followed by many local villagers to eke out a living.

The rescue operation in the area is still on as many others are feared trapped inside the unsettled overburden heap.

About seven police platoons and two teams of ODRAF (Odisha Distaster Rapid Action Force) have been deployed to carry out the rescue operation at Basundhara-Garjanbahal mines of MCL.

The incident took place on Saturday morning when some people from nearby villages were collecting coal from the overburden dump at Kulda opencast mine in Basundhara-Garjanbahal area. Some of them were near the giant heap when a portion of it suddenly caved in, probably due to heavy rainfall.

The dump yard was in a bad condition and had been declared unsafe and a prohibited area. A signboard displaying warning about not to come near it is in place, but the people who died did not see it. Moreover, the people were collecting and transporting coal illegally while the incident occurred, MCL authorities clarified in a statement.

Political parties such as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress blamed the coal miner for not taking enough precautions.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has ordered a high level administrative inquiry into the incident by the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (north).

The MCL and the Odisha government have separately announced ex-gratia of Rs 3 lakh and Rs 2 lakh respectively to the next of kin of the deceased. The Coal India subsidiary also sanctioned Rs 10,000 each for the victim's family members for the funeral. Meanwhile, Director, Mines Safety, Satish Kumar and his deputy, PK Kundu from Chainbasa region have reached the Basundhara mines area to conduct a probe.