<p>At least ten people were killed and several injured as a dumping yard of an opencast coal mine belonging to the Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL), a subsidiary of state-run Coal India Limited, caved in on Saturday in Odisha’s tribal-dominated Sundergarh district.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The death toll is likely to go up as many people are believed to be still trapped under the collapsed dumping yard. A rescue operation was on at the time of writing this story. Five people with serious injuries have so far been rescued.<br /><br />“Seven bodies have so far been recovered and five people have been rescued alive. The rescue operation is still on,” the public relations officer (PRO) of MCL Dikken Mehra said. <br />The tragedy occurred on Saturday morning at the MCL mines located in the Basundhara-Garjanbahal area under Hemgiri block, about 150 km from the steel township of Rourkela. <br /><br />According to Mehra, the accident occurred when people from nearby local villages were collecting coal from the dump yard after illegally entering into the mining area. “They were trespassers,” he said. The locals, however, said the villagers were standing outside the mines premises when the over-burdened dump yard collapsed.<br /><br />The MCL official said a high-level inquiry would be conducted into the incident. <br /><br />“However, our first job at the moment is to conduct the rescue operation,” he said. He refused to guess the number of people still trapped under the coal pile. “Villagers have told us that 15 to 20 people had gone to collect coal,” he said.<br /><br />The Sundergarh district collector and superintendent of police as well as other senior district officials have rushed to the spot as tension ran high in the area following the incident.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a high-level inquiry into the tragedy. The probe will be conducted by the local Revenue Divisional Commissioner. Besides, the state government has also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the family of the villagers who died in the tragedy.<br /><br />The MCL also announced a compensation of Ra 3 lakh each for the family of the deceased. <br /></p>
<p>At least ten people were killed and several injured as a dumping yard of an opencast coal mine belonging to the Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL), a subsidiary of state-run Coal India Limited, caved in on Saturday in Odisha’s tribal-dominated Sundergarh district.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The death toll is likely to go up as many people are believed to be still trapped under the collapsed dumping yard. A rescue operation was on at the time of writing this story. Five people with serious injuries have so far been rescued.<br /><br />“Seven bodies have so far been recovered and five people have been rescued alive. The rescue operation is still on,” the public relations officer (PRO) of MCL Dikken Mehra said. <br />The tragedy occurred on Saturday morning at the MCL mines located in the Basundhara-Garjanbahal area under Hemgiri block, about 150 km from the steel township of Rourkela. <br /><br />According to Mehra, the accident occurred when people from nearby local villages were collecting coal from the dump yard after illegally entering into the mining area. “They were trespassers,” he said. The locals, however, said the villagers were standing outside the mines premises when the over-burdened dump yard collapsed.<br /><br />The MCL official said a high-level inquiry would be conducted into the incident. <br /><br />“However, our first job at the moment is to conduct the rescue operation,” he said. He refused to guess the number of people still trapped under the coal pile. “Villagers have told us that 15 to 20 people had gone to collect coal,” he said.<br /><br />The Sundergarh district collector and superintendent of police as well as other senior district officials have rushed to the spot as tension ran high in the area following the incident.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik ordered a high-level inquiry into the tragedy. The probe will be conducted by the local Revenue Divisional Commissioner. Besides, the state government has also announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the family of the villagers who died in the tragedy.<br /><br />The MCL also announced a compensation of Ra 3 lakh each for the family of the deceased. <br /></p>
