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3 more bodies found in Bagdigi mine

Three more bodies were found in the Bagdigi coal mine near Dhanbad on Thursday, taking the confirmed toll in the mining disaster to four.

"One body was found floating at level number three, while two others have been located," A K Rudra, deputy director general of the directorate of mine safety, told the Press Trust of India.

Earlier, one of the 38 trapped miners was miraculously found alive, though unconscious, seven days after water surged in from the adjacent Jairampur colliery.

Salim Ansari, 32, who was found senseless on a seam above the flooded seventh one at around 0600 IST, is now reported to be out of danger.

An emaciated Ansari was brought out from the pithead on the Jairampur side by a rescue team comprising BCCL general manager (operations) S Prakash, Jairampur colliery manager R P Singh, overman Ramswarup Paswan and mining sardar Ramdeo Mistri at 0730 IST.

V K Singh, medical superintendent of the department of anaesthesia at the central hospital, told the Press Trust of India, "He has regained consciousness and is out of danger.

"Ansari, a fitter, survived because he had been drinking water in the mine. Though he is in a highly traumatized state he remembers his name. We have told him to speak as little as possible. He also spoke to his brother-in-law before being admitted to the ICU," the doctor said. An ECG was also done.

"Ansari must have climbed to level one, atop the flooded mine area, when water gushed in from Jairampur. He survived because of the existence of an air pocket there," the deputy director general of the DMS said.

Eastern Coalfields chairman-cum-managing director Ashok Mehta said, "We are very happy that we could rescue alive one worker. I thank God and the rescue team."

DMS Director General R L Arora had said on February 5 that he did not rule out the chances of finding survivors in Bagdigi even though 16 million gallons of water surged had surged in on February 2, swamping the mine.

"According to calculations from our map of the underground area, some miners were working at a higher level in the Bagdigi mine on Friday when water rushed in. These miners could have taken shelter and may be alive," Arora said.

The body that was discovered floating on Thursday was identified as that of a line worker, Chhotu Mia, BCCL sources said. The two other corpses have been identified as those of dresser Chanderdeo Harijan and labourer Brij Mohan Singh. The body of Pritam Singh, cable operator, was found on Monday.

P K Sinha, general manager of the Bootki Balihari colliery of the BCCL, coordinating rescue operations at the disaster site said three rescue teams had been sent into Bagdigi from the Jairampur side to bolster search operations.

Meanwhile, the water level in the mine is decreasing, though water is still entering from Jairampur.

Rudra said there was a possibility of more bodies being discovered as levels I, II and III had been de-watered with the gallery of drift (inclined mine) from the Bagdigi side at Level IV now visible.

"The water level is reducing at the rate of about one million gallons every day with 10 pumps working at present," he said.

Asked how long it would take to empty the mine of water, he said, "De-watering is proceeding at a good pace. We have not encountered muck so far, but it is bound to be there. Then it will take some time as the pumps become useless after encountering muck."

PTI

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