ECL Rajmahal Mine Dump Failure
CMD, Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) has reported that an incidence of overburden dump slide/subsidence has occurred in the second shift of 29.12.2016 at about 7.30 P.M. in the Rajmahal Open Cast Expansion Project in district Goda, Jharkhand, causing the unfortunate demise of 7 workers. The company has announced an ex-gratia compensation of Rs. 5 lakhs each to the family of the deceased, in addition to the amount to be paid under the Workmen's Compensation Act. All the necessary help to the families of the deceased is being extended by ECL. Two persons have met with injuries and treated in the Area Hospital. One of them has been sent to Durgapur for further treatment.
Prima facie, it is observed that the incidence is unprecedented, since an area of 300 m length by 110 m wide solid floor of the Over Burden dump area has slid down by about 35 m involving around 9.5 million cubic meters of earth material. This could be due to failure of the bench edge along the hidden fault line/slip.
Senior management of ECL and State Government officials have been supervising the rescue operations since yesterday evening. Till 11 A.M. today, 3 excavators and 7 dump trucks have been located. NDRF Team has also been engaged for rescue and relief operations.
An Inquiry has been ordered in the incident by the Director General of Mines Safety and a High Level Committee of Experts has been constituted by Coal India Limited to investigate into the causes of the accident.
A control room has been set up at the project office of Rajmahal Open Cast Expansion Project of ECL and Shri R.R. Amitabh, GM, Mining is in charge of control room
This accident claimed the lives of 18 people.