Search operation intensifies to trace missing miners in Odisha

Angul: Search operation has been intensified to trace the missing miners in a landslide that trapped workers at Bharatpur open cast mine of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) in Talcher area of Odisha’s Angul district.

According to reports an NDRF team and sniffer dogs have been pressed to action to aid the ongoing rescue operation. Chances of survival of the three remaining workers appear to be slim as they remain untraced even after over 36 hours of search.

Worth mentioning, 13 workers along with machinery were trapped when a portion of earth broke loose, thus trapping them. Nine workers have been rescued in critical condition so far and a body of another was recovered yesterday afternoon.

MCL issued a statement and said that labourers working in the night shift at Bharatpur open cast mine came under a dump slide due to a strata failure. The accident occurred between 11 pm and 11.30 pm on June 23.

Other labourers and rescue teams immediately swung into action and rescued nine workers, who were shifted to the company’s Central Hospital at Talcher for treatment.

The Director (Technical/Operations) and the Director (Personnel) are overseeing the rescue operations and an inquiry committee, under the General Manager (Safety and Rescue), has started an investigation to ascertain the cause of strata failure, the statement said.

(With IANS inputs)