THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
Jaipur, May 15: An official confirmed on Wednesday that all 15 Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) officials, who were trapped in the Kolihan Mine in the Neem ka Thana district since the previous night, have been rescued. However, Chief Vigilance Officer Upendra Pandey unfortunately died.
The HCL official Pandey’s death was confirmed by Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Zulfikar Ali on Wednesday afternoon.
ASP Ali said, “A total of 15 people were trapped in the mine in the incident. Among the 15, Hindustan Copper Limited Chief Vigilance Officer Upendra Pandey lost his life during the rescue efforts. The other 14 have been rescued and admitted to hospitals for treatment.”
Earlier, Collector Sharad Mehra of Neem ka Thana stated that 14 of the rescued individuals were transported to SMS Hospital in Jaipur for medical treatment, while one individual, who is feared to have died, was taken to a company hospital for examination.
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Lift collapsed due to rope breaking
According to the police, 15 employees of the Hindustan Copper Limited became trapped in a mine on Tuesday night when a lift which is used to transport personnel, plummeted due to rope breaking.
Mine officials and a vigilance team from Kolkata were in the lift. It is believed to have crashed at a depth of more than 1,800 feet inside the mine.
Among the trapped officials were Chief Vigilance Officer Upendra Pandey, Khetri Copper Complex (KCC) unit head GD Gupta, and Deputy General Manager AK Sharma from Kolihan Mine.
