Kolkata: Two workers were killed in a coal mine at Pandaveswar in West Burdwan when a portion of it caved in on Sunday early morning.
Police said the victims — Chandrasekhar Giri (42) and Kaleswar Mahato (40) — were working night shift and they got trapped when a portion of mine caved in at around 4.15 am on Sunday. The incident took place at Pandaveswar Khottadihi Coalmine.
Chandrasekhar used to work as an overman while Kaleswar was a dresser.
They were working at the coal mine since last night. All of a sudden, a rock slab around seven feet in length fell on them.
Other workers gathered in the area and took the initiative to rescue them. Disaster Management Group of the Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) also went to the spot and continued the rescue work. They found the workers trapped inside the coal mine. Both of them were rescued and taken to a hospital where they were declared brought dead.
The incident led to panic among other workers and immediately demanded necessary steps to check recurrence of such incidents.
They also demanded a probe by the ECL authorities in this connection. The victim's co-workers demanded a compensation amount and a job for one of their family members.
Other workers, who witnessed the incident, told police they heard a loud sound all of a sudden.
Initially, they couldn't understand what had happened. Later, they realised that a portion of the coalmine had caved in. Initially, they couldn't understand whether anyone was trapped under it. But within a few minutes, it became clear to them that Chandrasekhar and Kaleswar were trapped. They cried for help and the authorities took necessary step to carry out the rescue work.
"Both Chandrasekhar and Kaleswar were busy in their work when the incident took place. They did not get time to move out of the place before the rock slab fell on them," said a worker adding that they expect that the authorities will take necessary steps so that such an incident doesn't take place again.