Three workers injured in blast at coal mine in Chhattisgarh

Manendragarh (Chhattisgarh), Oct 6 (PTI) At least three workers, including two women, were injured after an explosion at an open cast coal mine of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL), a central PSU, in Chhattisgarh's Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur (MCB) district on Monday, a company official said.

The incident took place between 2 pm and 3 pm at Chirmiri open cast coal mine when workers were preparing to carry out blasting, laying explosives on the coal bed at a site, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of SECL Sanish Chandra told PTI over the phone.

As per preliminary information, after laying the explosives, the blasting gang, comprising seven to eight workers, including women, was returning to a safer place for detonation when the explosion suddenly occurred at the site, he said.

The explosion caused pieces of rocks to get tossed in the air and then fall on workers and vehicles at the coal mine, the PRO explained.

"At least three workers sustained minor injuries and were admitted to SECL's regional hospital at Kurasia town in Chirmiri," he said, adding they will be discharged soon.

Prima facie, it seems a technical error led to the blast though the exact cause was being probed, said Chandra.

Manendragarh is located around 300 km away from the state capital Raipur. PTI COR TKP RSY