Rajasthan: Chief Vigilance Officer Dead, 14 Others Rescued Officials As Lift Collapses At Kolihan Copper Mine

Hindustan Copper Limited's Chief Vigilance Officer Upendra Kumar Pandey died after a lift collapsed at a mine in Rajasthan's Neem Ka Thana, police said on Wednesday. Fourteen others who were trapped in the mine were rescued and sent to a hospital in Jaipur for treatment, they said.

The 15 officials of the public sector company got trapped in the mine when a cage used to carry the personnel crashed after a rope broke, police said.

The lift carrying members of the vigilance team is believed to have crashed 2,000 feet inside in the mine.

Rescue operations were launched Tuesday night.

Additional Director General (ADG) Anil Paliwal said the rescue team recovered the body of Chief Vigilance Officer Pandey from the mine. A team of 15 personnel had gone down the mine for an inspection and while returning, the cable of the cage broke due to which the cage fell down. They were stuck in a depth of around 1,875 feet.

Apart from Chief Vigilance Officer Upendra Pandey, Khetri Copper Complex unit head GD Gupta, and Kolihan mine's Deputy General Manager AK Sharma were among those who were trapped.

Along with them, a journalist who entered the mine with the team as a photographer was also trapped.

Rescue operations to pull out the 14 members began on Tuesday night. Doctors and ambulances were placed on standby outside the mine.

As per initial reports, the incident took place when the vigilance team along with senior officials went inside the mine for an inspection. As they were about to come up, a rope of the shaft broke, trapping the 14 officials inside.

(With inputs from agencies)