SECL Official Swept Away by Floodwaters in Chhattisgarh Found Dead

Jitendra Nagarkar, a SECL assistant manager, was found dead after being swept away by floodwaters at the Kusmunda coal mine in Chhattisgarh. Nagarkar and five others were caught in the flow, but only he did not make it out. His body was recovered after a 16-hour search.

Tragedy struck at the Kusmunda coal mine in Chhattisgarh's Korba district as SECL assistant manager Jitendra Nagarkar, 41, was found dead early Sunday after being swept away by floodwaters. The discovery came after a painstaking 16-hour search led by the National and State Disaster Response Forces.

Nagarkar had gone missing around 4:30 pm on Saturday while at the mine's Godawari face. He, along with five others, got trapped in the path of raging waters flowing into the mine's sump—a large excavated area meant to collect water for pumping. While the others managed to escape, Nagarkar was unfortunate to be carried away by the deluge.

Sanish Chandra, SECL's public relations officer, confirmed the incident and added that Nagarkar's body was sent for post-mortem. Nagarkar, originally from Chandrapur district in Maharashtra, had only recently been transferred to the Kusmunda project from Western Coalfields.

(With inputs from agencies.)