Hindustan Copper official killed in Rajasthan mine mishap, 14 rescued

Jaipur, May 15

Hindustan Copper Limited’s chief vigilance officer Upendra Kumar Pandey died after a lift collapsed at a mine in Rajasthan’s Neem Ka Thana, the police said on Wednesday.

Fourteen others were pulled out and sent to a hospital in Jaipur in a rescue operation that lasted several hours following the accident on Tuesday night.

An HCL vigilance team from Kolkata and others were being lowered down a shaft in a “cage” on Tuesday night when its cable snapped, trapping them at a depth of 1,875 feet, the police said.

Additional Director General (ADG) of Rajasthan Police Anil Paliwal said the rescue team recovered Pandey’s body from the mine.

A vigilance team of 15 personnel of HCL, a Central government enterprise, had gone down the mine for an inspection and while returning, the cable of the cage broke, the police said, adding the rescue team pulled out the personnel in multiple rounds on Wednesday.

In a statement, the HCL said, “An accident occurred at the Kolihan copper mine of Khetri Copper Complex (a unit of HCL), Khetrinagar, Rajasthan, around 7.30 pm on May 14.” It further said in the accident, one person died and 14 others suffered serious injuries.

In Delhi, Mines Secretary VL Kantha Rao said an inquiry would be ordered.

“I had been in the same lift a few months back. It was all good…we will hold an inquiry and find out what happened,” Rao said.