Warangal, October 30: It was a classic case of the proverbial serpent and the rope. When smoke engulfed the KTK coal mine Incline II on Friday in Bhoopalpally, everyone, including the officials and miners, thought it was a deadly carbon monoxide leak.
Twenty miners were working underground in the mine and about 750 nearby when the fire occurred. Rumours spread that a miner, Shankar, had collapsed after inhaling the gas, spreading panic.
Meanwhile, TV channels ran scrolls about the ‘ghastly’ accident and release of the gas giving anxious moments to the families of the trapped miners. Rescue teams that rushed into the mine, however, found that it was only a minor fire. They brought out all the workers safely. Miner Shankar initially complained of giddiness but later recovered fully. The officials are trying to build a wall in the mine and pump in water to put out the fire.
Bhoopalpally MLA G Venkat Ramana Reddy, who rushed to the spot, spoke to the Singareni Collieries offcials.
He said officials had informed him that it was not a major incident and as such there was no need to worry. It was a common occurrence in mines but happened for the first time in Bhoopalapally Mines, he said.
–Agencies