A serious incident occurred at South Eastern Coalfields Limited’s (SECL) Chirmiri open cast coal mine in Chhattisgarh’s Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district on Monday, leaving three workers injured. The blast took place during preparations for a scheduled blasting operation. A team of workers was engaged in placing explosives on the coal seam when an unintended detonation occurred. The sudden explosion caused fragmentation of rocks, which struck some of the workers and hit vehicles in the vicinity. The three injured individuals, including two women, were immediately attended to and transported to the SECL regional hospital in Kurasia, Chirmiri. Their condition is reported as stable, and they are expected to be discharged soon. While a technical fault is the suspected reason for the early blast, a comprehensive inquiry is in progress to ascertain the definitive cause. Safety measures are under review, and operations at the mine have been temporarily paused.
