The accident occurred in the underground mine of WCL, a subsidiary of state-owned Coal India Limited in Madhya Pradesh on March 6, 2025
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
At least three workers were killed in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh after a roof collapsed in a coal mine of the Western Coal Fields (WCL) on Thursday, officials said.
According to the local police, the incident took place around 3.10 p.m. in the underground Bagdona-Chhatarpur mine in Sarni area, leaving the three men, including a supervisor, trapped.
Betul Superintendent of Police Nishchal Jharia told The Hindu that about 80 workers were on duty at the time of the roof collapse, which took place about four kilometres inside the mine.
The deceased were identified as assistant manager Govind Kosaria, 37; Ramprasad Chauhan, 46; and Ramdev Pandole, 49. “Two of them were locals while one hailed from Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdham district, he said.
Mr. Jharia said that a rescue operation was undertaken by the WCL’s team and other workers were moved out safely.
He said that while no case had been registered yet, the police are checking if any lapses occurred.
The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem.
Amla MLA Yogesh Pandagre and District Collector Narendra Kumar Suryavanshi issued directions to the authorities to hand over the life cover amount of ₹1.5 lakh to the kin of each of the deceased. They also directed the WCL officials to issue the ex gratia and other compensation soon.
Published – March 06, 2025 08:02 pm IST