4 SCCL workers killed as coal mine roof caves in

Mancherial: In a heart-rending incident, four workers died when a roof of a coal mine of the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) collapsed on them in Mancherial district on Wednesday. The incident occurred at Srirampur area while roof-stitching was on, the SCCL and the police said.

Srirampur Chief General Manager Suresh and Manager of the mine Ravi Kumar rushed to the spot. A rescue team is retrieving the workers' bodies who were trapped in the mine. At the time of incident, 18 workers were on the spot.

A portion of the roof fell on the four workers, in the age group of 32 and 60, burying them under the rubble and resulting in their death, they said.

SCCL Chairman and Managing Director N Sridhar conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families. He ordered an enquiry into the incident and directed the officials concerned to submit a report. "It should be seen that such incidents do not recur," he said.

The SCCL Chairman has also announced employment to one eligible member of the family of each of the deceased besides an ex-gratia between Rs 70 lakh and Rs 1 crore. The deceased have been identified as BeeraLachaiah(60), Krishna Reddy (58), Satya Narsimha Raju (32) and Rinka Chandrasekhar(29).Lachaiah is a resident of Namnoor village of Hajipur mandal of Mancherial district.