70 labourers rescued from coal mine in Asansol
Around 70 workers trapped for more than 15 hours, in East Paras coal mine were rescued in West Bengal's Asansol on Sunday. As per their shift timings, the workers who entered the coal mine at 11 pm were supposed to come out at 7 am. The lifts carrying the workers stopped due to malfunctioning of both steam-powered and electric-powered lifts.
Due to this, labourers were stuck inside the mine, which had a low air supply. They were unable to come out of the mines and their families got worried after knowing about the situation.
The Eastern Coalfield Limited authority decided to rescue the 70 labourers out of the mine by restarting the lift via steam.
"We were terrified after we saw the lifts were not working. Our families were really worried about us. This happened because of the safety officer. It's all because of the carelessness of the authorities. We came here to work at the coal mine around 11 pm on Saturday and were supposed to work till 7 am on Sunday. We were taken out around 10:30 am," Prem, a labourer said to ANI.
The workers are now demanding that the authorities should take stringent actions against the officers who were held responsible for the situation. In the wake of this accident, entire labourers of coal mines went on for a strike.
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