Rajasthan mine lift collapse: Hindustan Copper Ltd official dies, 14 others rescued

NEE KA THANA: A senior official of Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL) who was trapped inside a copper mine in Rajasthan's Neem Ka Thana district died on Wednesday after disaster rescue personnel pulled out all 15 people who got trapped after a lift used to transport personnel inside the mine collapsed. The Chief Vigilance Officer Upendra Pandey of the Public Sector Unit company, along with 14 other personnel, were taken out of the Kolihan mine and rushed to hospitals for treatment.

Some of those injured were referred to Jaipur after treatment at KCC Hospital in Khetri. Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), Zulfikar Ali confirmed the death of the HCL official Pandey 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." The police official said that Hindustan Copper Limited will conduct an investigation into the matter and police will also conduct a thorough investigation into the incident after registering a case.

Hindustan Copper Ltd Deputy General Manager, Mohit Chatterjee said doctors would respond to queries on the matter. Earlier in the day, Praveen Nayak, Superintendent of Police (SP), Neem Ka Thana, shared the had said 10 people were rescued from the site. "In the first slot, three people were brought out from the mine, five people were rescued in the second slot and two more persons were brought out of the mine in the third slot," the official said.

The incident took place at Hindustan Copper Limited's (HCL's) copper mine in the Neem Ka Thana district in the late hours of Tuesday. The lift was carrying a vigilance team from Kolkata as well as mine officials. The incident took place after the rope supporting the lift broke and it is believed to have plunged more than 1,800 feet inside the mine.

Khetri Copper Complex (KCC) unit head GD Gupta, and Kolihan Mine's Deputy General Manager AK Sharma were among the officials who were rescued.

A journalist, Vikas Pareek who had entered the mine as a photographer with the vigilance team was also trapped among the 15 people. Shortly after receiving information about the lift collapse incident, ambulances rushed to the spot and doctors were asked to prepare for any situation.