States » EastPosted at: Oct 6 2026 12:32AM


Bengal: Major mishap averted at ECL underground mine near Durgapur

Durgapur, Oct 5 (UNI) A major mishap was averted at an underground coal mine of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), a PSU miner, barely 16 km from Durgapur Steel City on Monday morning.
The mishap occurred at ECL's Siduli Colliery under its Kenda Area this morning after a sudden water inrush triggered a massive air blast. Kenda Area GM Dinesh Sharma said, "The priority was to save lives of workers, which has been achieved, and a technical inquiry is underway."
The blast was so intense that the lift at the mine's No. 2 Pit was uprooted and gas started leaking from nearby abandoned mines. In a nearby colliery, villagers complained of breathing difficulty after gas started emanating from surface cracks.
Just two employees — Pump Operator Hinchalal Pasi and Overman Ramesh Baksal — were inside the pit at the time of the mishap. As the lift was damaged, the rescue team, led by Colliery Agent Pankaj Kumar Verma, pulled them out safely through No. 3 Pit after strenuous efforts.
Experts suspect that the safety barrier of the neighbouring Shankarpur Open Cast Project caved in, causing its water to rush into Siduli.
A high-level team from the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS), as well as officials from the ECL headquarters, reached the spot shortly. UNI KS NST CDS
Tags: #Bengal: Major mishap averted at ECL underground mine near Durgapur
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