UCIL mishap: Toll rises to 3, Mines Safety Director seals mines

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Jamshedpur, May 29: A day after the mine mishap at the underground mines of Turamdih-situated Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), rescuers recovered two bodies from the mishap site on Sunday, taking the toll to three.

Those killed in�Saturday’s�mishap were identified as Milan Karmakar (35), Sonaram Kisku (24) and Surya Kant Singh (42).

Nine others were injured in the mishap and they have been admitted to Tata Main Hospital. Two of the injured were released after first-aid yesterday itself, while the remaining seven are recuperating at the hospital.

The body of Surya Kant Singh, a safety officer,�was recovered from the mines at about�6.30 a.m.�today. Soon after Singh’s body was recovered, Director of Mines Safety, Chaibasa, Satish Kumar, sealed�the mines for necessary inspection.

The other victim, Sonaram Kisku was a contract worker employed�by�M/s A K Enterprises. Milan Karmakar, on the other hand, was a general foreman. He was the first victim who was declared dead at the Tata Main Hospital when he was taken there after sustaining fatal injuries at about�12.30 p.m.�on Saturday.

The injured include Upender Singh, Satyender Singh, Mangal Bhagat, Matku Ho, Sugru Hembrom,�B M�Rana, Jolar Ho, Samant Hembrom and Krishna Kumar Kisku.

The tragedy struck at about11 a.m.�on Saturday�when a team of officials�were inspecting a point of mining at about�255 meters�below the ground level. While a section of contract worker�were busy in removing the ores employing a loader, the inspection team was busy at the mining point to ensure that there is no leakage in the crust of the mines.

Gradually the crust on the left side began to get damp and there was slight leakage in the area.�As the leakage intensified, the inspection team apprehended danger.�Suddenly, there was a blast-like sound and the next moment a huge sludge started gushing out from one of the mining points. This resulted in sweeping away most of the officials as well as the contract workers.

Turamdih mines, located about 15 kilometers from�city are one of the seven mines of UCIL in the East Singhbhum district.� The other mines are located at Mahuldih, Bhatin, Narwah, Jadugoda, Bagjata and Banduhurang.� Bandhurang is an open caste mines, while the remaining are all underground mines. At present, all the mines UCIL in the region, barring those in Jadugoda, are operational.

On Sunday, Sanjiv Ranjan, manager (Personnel) Turamdih mines, UCIL, confirmed that there was no one left at the mishap site inside the mines. On the other hand, UCIL general manager (Personal and Industrial Relations), CS Sharma rushed to Tata Main Hospital in the afternoon where he met the bereaved members of the victims’ families.�

The UCIL management has also decided to provide family members of Sonaram Kisku the benefits (compensation)�as per the government rules.