Fire started due to spark in mine, operator saved from burning alive

Korba: A massive fire broke out in a coal cutting machine (surface miner machine) at around 9.40 pm on Wednesday night in the SECL Kusmunda mine of the district. Even the operator running the machine could not understand how the fire broke out. He saved his life by quickly jumping from the machine.

The cause of the fire has not been revealed yet. The operator immediately informed the top officials and the fire brigade about the fire. By the time Kusmunda SECL fire brigade arrived to extinguish the fire, more than half of the machine was burnt.

This is the second major incident of fire in SECL Kusmunda mine in the last 2 days. On Monday, a sudden fire broke out in a coal loaded tipper in the South Eastern Coal Limited Gevra mine in Korba district. A large part of the tipper was burnt to ashes in the fire. The driver somehow saved his life by jumping from the truck. On Sunday too, driver Manharan Singh had died when his trailer overturned in the Gevra mine. All these accidents are happening during the Safety Fortnight.