Presentation on Anjan Hill Mine Accident on 06.05.2010

The Incident On 06.05.2010 at about 11.30 AM an explosion took place in Anjan Hill mine of M/s. South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. A subsidiary company of M/s Coal India Ltd., resulting into Fatal injury to 6 persons below ground Fatal injury to 8 persons on surface Serious injury to 5 persons at surface, & 25 persons received minor injuries

The Mine - Location Name of the mine: Anjan Hill Mine Location: 225 Kms from Bilaspur in Northerly direction Area: Chirimiri Nearest Town & Railway Station: Chirimiri (about 8Kms away) Approach: by metal road

Chirimiri

History 1928: Mining started in Chirimiri Colliery 1976: The mine divided into Chirimiri opencast and Chirimiri underground mine 2002 (Sept): Chirimiri u/g mine divided into two underground mines, Bartunga Hill mine and Anjan Hill mine First owner: M/s. Daga & Co. Taken over by - M/s. Coal Mines Authority Ltd. on 31.03.1973 Transferred to - M/s. Western Coalfields Ltd. on 01.11.1975 Further Transferred to - M/s. South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. on 01.04.1986

Anjan Hill Mine – Salient Features Surface topography: Undulating hilly terrain Elevation: 625m AMSL – 870m AMSL Coal seams: 4 nos.; topmost – “0” seam, Local seam, I seam and No. III seam (bottom most) Access: Adits “A” & “B” Inclination of seams: Mostly flat Degree of Gassiness: I (inflammable gas <0.1% in general body of air & < 1m3 per tonne of coal raised)

Coal seam disposition at Anjan Hill No. 3 SEAM No. 1 SEAM No. LOCAL SEAM No. 0 SEAM LOCAL SEAM 1 IN 5 ANJAN HILL MINE BARTUNGA HILL MINE RL 880 m RL 870 m 160 m Thickness 5 to 12.5 m 1 in 182 Reserve o.90 Mt Thickness 4.2 to5.33m 1 in 30 13.40-13.85m 54.28-64.80m. Thickness 1.71-1.90 m Reserve 0.31 Mt. Thickness 1.10-1.75m 1 in 26 Reserve 0.78 Mt. 29.05-29.55 m Thickness 6.98-9.37m 1 in 45 Reserve 5.98 MT. Thickness 1.5 Reserve o.925 Mt Thickness 1.5 to 1.8 m Reserve 1.65Mt Thickness 8.4 m 30 m 83 m 14 m Coal seam disposition at Anjan Hill

Bore Hole Section, Anjan Hill Mine

Present Workings “0” Seam: Extracted & sealed off Local Seam: 1.71m – 1.90m; developed in Bord & Pillar system, 5 panels extracted, 2 panels (L6 & L7) were being extracted with SDLs No. “I” seam: 1.10m – 1.75m; Developed in B&P system, 3 panels extracted, panel 10R was under extraction with SDLs No.”III” seam: 6.98m – 9.37m; developed along floor with 3m height was being extracted by Blasting Gallery method, one panel (A1) was extracted and sealed; second panel (A2) was under extraction

Production & Employment Sl No. Seam Avg. Daily Production (tonnes) Avg. Daily Employment (BG) 1. Local 300 100 2. “I” 120 95 3. “III” 800 150 Total 1220 345 (BG) + 160 (Gen Shift) + 60 (AG) On an average, about 280 – 300 persons worked below ground in day time, 1st & G-shifts, and about 130-150 persons worked below ground in 2nd & 3rd shifts

The Events 03.05.10: Influx of CO from sealed off area of panel A1 (BG) reported, CO detected outside stoppings and from pillar sides through cracks Senior officials of area entered mine in 2nd shift, around 9PM, CO found in sealed area behind 56D/81L in excess of 2000 ppm, CH4 was 0.34% to 0.7% Strengthening work of IS undertaken in the night shift 04.05.10: Rescue teams engaged; arrangements for construction of second row of stoppings made, CO out side seals of A1 reduced; A2 panel environment found free from inflammable & noxious gases, CO found in A2 : 10-20ppm; spot measurement of gases continued 05.05.10: Sr. Officials of area visited mine – decided to expedite stopping repair/construction work; >200 ppm CO and 1.34% CH4 detected behind 56D/81L seal; Around 1620 Hrs a sudden gust of air felt at Adits A, B and air shaft; supervisors inspected working areas and found nothing missing, however, all persons engaged in stopping work were withdrawn; similar incident was experienced at about 2210 Hrs. One air sample was collected from air-shaft at about 1305 hrs.; the analysis results were received at the mine around 1900 hrs. (CO-5521ppm, CH4-0.26% ), some more checks were done All persons engaged in production work were withdrawn from the mine for the night shift

The Events 06.05.10: Rescue teams kept checking throughout night shift for presence of toxic and inflammable gases at seam returns, panel returns and ISs; main return of seam III on all occasions had shown >2000 ppm of CO At about 0540 Hrs 14 rescue trained persons went below ground for inspections under leadership of Sri P K Mitra, rescue superintendant. After inspections, by 0930 Hrs. 8 persons returned to surface while 6 persons remained below ground for further instructions Around 1000 Hrs two persons were again sent below ground for collecting air samples Around 1015 Hrs, on receiving instructions from surface, 2 members of the rescue team below ground returned to surface carrying 9 nos. of self contained self rescuers Around 1100 Hrs., a team led by Late S K Goswami, GM(Op) was ready at adit B mouth to go below ground; many more persons were present in the area awaiting instructions from senior officials At about 1130 Hrs there was an explosion inside the mine and severe blast wave laden with dust cloud came out of Adits A & B 6 persons were present below ground at the time 8 persons including the GM(Op) who were present at the Adit B mouth got fatally injured 25 more persons sustained injuries, 5 of which were serious in nature

Rescue & Recovery Injured persons on surface were shifted to hospitals at Chirimiri & Bilaspur immediately afterwards Due to presence of toxic atmosphere below ground, first foray underground could be made only around 1930 hrs of 07.05.10 2 dead bodies were recovered during 7th night, 1 body was recovered at about 1130 hrs on 10th, another was recovered around 1730 hrs 2 more bodies were recovered on 11.05.10 around midnight It was decided to seal the mine from surface and monitor the atmosphere below ground before further actions can be initiated

Anjan Hill Mine Portal- Adit ‘B’ Anjan Hill Mine Portal- Adit ‘A’ Belt Conveyor Structure

Anjan Hill Mine Shift office at Adit ‘B’ mouth Anjan Hill Mine Portal- Adit ‘B’