Four workers killed in explosion at Singareni Collieries Company Ltd mine in Telangana

Four workers were killed and three seriously injured in an explosion at an open cast coal mine of state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Ltd in Peddapalli district of Telangana on Tuesday, police said.

"The explosion occurred at Ramagundam-3 region of SSCL mine at around 10.25 am, killing the four workers, aged between 28 to 42 years, on the spot," Ramagundam Police Commissioner V Satyanarayana told reporters.

He said initial investigation revealed that the blast occurred when non-electrical detonators filled with slurry (semi-liquid mixture of fine particles of manure, cement, or coal suspended in water), exploded. The three seriously injured workers were shifted to a hospital at Godavarikhani, he said.

Police said the workers were employed by a private contractor and the incident occurred during the filling of Site Mix Emulsion into the open cast mine.

A case under IPC section304A(causing death by negligence) has been registered, they said. Meanwhile, a senior official of SCCL said that the Director General of Mines Safety would conduct an enquiry.