Vigilance officer’s death in Hindustan Copper’s mine: Workers say lift that collapsed had problems earlier too

In Delhi, Mines Secretary V L Kantha Rao said an inquiry will be ordered into the incident. “I had been in the same lift a few months back. It was all good… we will get an inquiry done and find out what happened,” he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Seven of the rescued people have been admitted to a private hospital in Jaipur. Most of them have suffered fractures in their feet. The condition of one official, K K Sharma, is said to be critical.

A HCL vigilance team from Kolkata and senior Khetri Copper Complex (KCC) officials were leaving the mine on Tuesday at 8.10 pm when the cable snapped and the lift plunged into the shaft, leaving them trapped at a depth of 1,875 feet. KCC is an HCL unit.

A statement from the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) said the injured persons were brought up with the help of a trolley to the zero-metre level (sea level). Then, they were taken out to the base with the help of improvised stretchers, a pulley and a rescue rope, said the statement.

A mine worker involved in the operation, Chetram Kasana, told The Indian Express: “There are a set of stairs through which we were able to get to them. But they were so steep that it wasn’t possible to carry the injured people upstairs. So, some of us went downstairs one by one.”

Rescue and relief work underway after a lift collapsed at Kolihan mine, in Jhunjhunu district, Rajasthan, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (PTI)

He added: “We attached ropes to all four sides of the stretchers and tied the injured persons to it. People on the surface then pulled it out.”

The first set of three people were pulled out at 6.10 am and reached the surface at 7 am. The remaining people were rescued in a similar manner by 12 pm in four more batches, he said.

The body of Upendra Pandey was pulled out at the very end. It has been kept at the KCC Hospital mortuary, said district authorities, adding that said his family in Kolkata has been informed.

More than a hundred people were involved in the rescue operation, including SDRF teams. Prakash Nayak, the SP of Neem Ka Thana district where the mine is located, said: “Rescue teams worked through the night. Most of the injured people have been taken to a private hospital in Jaipur.”

The AGM of HCL, Y R Meena, was among the people rescued. He suffered injuries in his left leg and is undergoing treatment at KCC Hospital. He told The Indian Express: “When we fell, it was a shock to us and all of us were breathless. We felt hope when some rescuers came down the stairs. A lot of us were injured and unable to move. I have not received any serious injuries, so I decided to stay at KCC. I am hopeful the others are fine.”

Meanwhile, many Kolihan mine workers The Indian Express spoke to at the site alleged negligence on the part of officials in maintaining mining equipment.

No senior HCL official was available at the site for comment. The company’s Deputy General Manager for Human Resources, Rajender Sajwan, did not respond to multiple phone calls.

A union leader alleged that a similar lift accident happened at the mine on Monday.

District chief of Hind Mazdoor Sabha Ravindra Kumar said: “We have received information that on Monday the lift collapsed at 20 feet but no one was hurt in that incident. If the administration knew about such an incident, they should have acted and stopped the work. Most of the equipment in the mines need upgrading. We have relatives, family members and friends who still work in the mines and go inside every day.”