1. Presentation on Anjan Hill Mine Accident on 06.05.2010

2. The Incident
On at about 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

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

4. Chirimiri

5. 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
Transferred to - M/s. Western Coalfields Ltd. on
Further Transferred to - M/s. South Eastern Coalfields Ltd. on

6. 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)

7. 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 m m.
Thickness m
Reserve Mt.
Thickness m
1 in 26
Reserve 0.78 Mt. m
Thickness m
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

8. Bore Hole Section, Anjan Hill Mine

9. 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

10. 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) (Gen Shift) + 60 (AG)
On an average, about 280 – 300 persons worked below ground in day time, 1st & G-shifts, and about persons worked below ground in 2nd & 3rd shifts

12. The Events
: 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
: 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
: 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

13. The Events
: 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

14. 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
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 around midnight
It was decided to seal the mine from surface and monitor the atmosphere below ground before further actions can be initiated

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

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