DHANBAD BASANTIMATA MINE ACCIDENT

DHANBAD BASANTIMATA MINE ACCIDENT WITH DETAILED TIMELINE
05:44 PM 12-Nov-2013
DHANBAD: Search for the four trapped miners ended after 28 hours with the recovery of three more bodies today from the Basantimata coal mine here, the roof of which had caved in. "The bodies of Sitaram Majhi, Litu Saha, and Assistant Manager Arup Chatterjee were extricated today with the help of professional well diggers," BCCL sources said. The body of another miner, Heera Lal, was brought out yesterday. All the bodies were sent for post-mortem. The mine accident occurred when the roof of the Basantimata mine caved in at 11.15 am yesterday during an inspection by colliery officials. The last body was brought out at 3.40 pm today. Rescue teams of BCCL and ECL were unable to extricate the bodies and the help of professional well diggers of nearby Nirsa area was sought, General Manager of the Chanch/Victoria area of BCCL in which the mine falls, T S Mandal said. Over 20 diggers pierced the collapsed roof and brought out the bodies.
BCCL Chief General Manager T K Lahiri today said there must have been some mistake in selecting the spot where the mining was on. An enquiry has been ordered into the accident, Lahiri said adding compensation and job to the family members of the deceased would be made as per normal.
09:24 AM 12-Nov-2013
4 bodies recovered; trapped miners rescued
Dhanbad: Bodies of the four miners, who were trapped in a colliery in Dhanbad have been taken out. The remaining trapped miners have also been rescued. At least 20 people were left trapped in the Basantimata colliery in Dhanbad in Jharkhand on Monday after a roof caved in at a BCCL coal mine, leading to suspension of mining activities at the site. Bharat Coking Coal (BCCL) Chairman and Managing Director Tapas Kumar Lahiry has said that the Basantimata mine in the Chanch/Victoria area caved in at about 11 am on Monday during an inspection by colliery officials after the night shift.
The incident occurred during a break between shifts, Lahiry said, adding that generally about 100 miners work in one shift. The four employees trapped inside were Heera Lal and Sitaram Majhi, besides Litu Saha and Arup Chatterjee, he said. Dhanbad-based BCCL, a Coal India subsidiary, accounts for almost 50 per cent of the total prime coking coal requirement of the integrated steel sector.
(With additional information from PTI)

9.00Pm 11-Nov-2013 :
4 feared dead, at least 6 others trapped inside a colliery
Dhanbad: At least four people are feared to have died in Dhanbad in Jharkhand after being trapped inside a colliery of Bharat Cooking Coal Limited (BCCL) on Monday, according to sources. At least 6 other miners are still trapped inside the colliery of BCCL. The incident took place at Basantimata colliery in Dhanbad. Report says that it is the incident of earth caving in. Rescue team of BCCL have reached the site and have started the operation.
(More updates awaited)

4.29 pm 11-Nov-2013 : All miners except four rescued, says BCCL official A BCCL official said the roof collapsed at the Basantimata colliery, situated at Nirsa in Dhanbad district, around 240 km from Ranchi. At least 175 miners had gone inside the mine for coal excavation. "All miners except four have been rescued. The rescue operation is going on," RR Prasad, chief of the company's corporate communication department said.

4.08 pm 11-Nov-2013 : District Collector says only one dead District Collector of Dhanbad Prashant Kumar said,"Seven people are trapped of which three have been brought out unhurt and one person has died." Kumar told Times Now that rescue team on the job are trying to cut put big chunks of rock to bring out people. He said that the ceiling of the was disturbed so care has to be taken because the ceiling might collapse. Meanwhile CNN-IBN had earlier reported four people are feared dead after the Basantimata Colliery, belonging to the state-owned Bharat Coking Coal Limited in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district, caved in today with six miners trapped inside. Rescue teams have rushed to the spot to rescue the trapped miners. As per reports on CNN-IBN, the colliery follows the open cast method of mining. Confusion prevailed over the number of miners trapped inside with conflicting reports coming in saying nearly 100 miners were trapped. Later the number of miners was scaled down to 20 then to six. Although no official report has been
issued so far, there are four casualties, one more than the initial three when reports first came in. The incident happened when 170 miners were drilling the inclined mine at the colliery and the coal wall collapsed. Among them 164 miners were resued and the injured have been rushed to hospital. Six miners are still reportedly trapped. Senior Bharat Coking Coal Limited and Dhanbad district administration officials are at the spot.