Three killed in roof collapse in WCL mine in MP's Betul district

The deceased are assistant manager Govind Kosariya 37, mining sirdar mining supervisor or foreman Ramprasad Chauhan 46 and overman official responsible for supervising and managing mining operations, ensuring safety, and overseeing the work of subordinate officials and competent persons Ramdev Pandole 49, Suryavanshi said.WCL officials have been asked to provide assistance under life cover scheme to the families of the deceased immediately, he added.Two of the deceased were locals, while the third person was from Kawardha in neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

Three men, including an assistant manager, were killed after a roof collapsed in a coal mine of Western Coalfields Limited in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district on Thursday, police said.

The accident occurred in the underground mine of WCL, a subsidiary of state-owned Coal India Limited, in Chhatarpur area, about 65 km from the district headquarters, officials said.

Three WCL workers who were pulled out from under the debris after a roof collapse in the coal mine are dead, Superintendent of Police Nischal Jharia told PTI from the hospital where the victims were taken.

Collector Narendra Kumar Suryavanshi said the accident occurred approximately 4 kilometres down inside the mine.

''All three employees died inside the mine. The doctors declared them dead. The deceased are assistant manager Govind Kosariya (37), 'mining sirdar' (mining supervisor or foreman) Ramprasad Chauhan (46) and overman (official responsible for supervising and managing mining operations, ensuring safety, and overseeing the work of subordinate officials and competent persons) Ramdev Pandole (49),'' Suryavanshi said.

WCL officials have been asked to provide assistance under life cover scheme to the families of the deceased immediately, he added.

Two of the deceased were locals, while the third person was from Kawardha in neighbouring Chhattisgarh. His family is being contacted, SP Jharia said.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, he added. According to locals, the roof collapsed around 3 pm.