Sirmaur: A major accident at a mine in Bagandhar under Kamrau tehsil of Sirmaur district claimed three lives on Tuesday evening after heavy debris and massive boulders suddenly collapsed from a hilltop. The sudden impact completely buried two dumpers and an LNT heavy machine operating at the site.
Work was underway at the Bagandhar mine on Tuesday evening when large rocks and debris slid down the mountain at high speed, leaving workers with no time to react. Three individuals, including a dumper driver, were directly trapped inside the vehicles during the landslide.
Following the incident, local administration, police personnel, NDRF teams, and local residents launched a joint relief and rescue effort. By Wednesday morning, rescue teams intensified operations despite severe challenges posed by intermittent falling debris, difficult terrain, and dense fog that temporarily hampered visibility. Heavy machinery alongside manual clearing methods were deployed to sift through the rubble.
After hours of intense effort, teams reached one of the trapped dumpers on Wednesday morning and recovered the body of the driver, identified as Anil Kumar, a resident of Barwas, Himachal Pradesh. Rescue personnel subsequently shifted focus toward locating the remaining two individuals.
By Wednesday evening, the bodies of the other two trapped workers were also recovered from beneath the debris. The deceased were identified as Dhan Singh and Gajendra Singh, both mine workers of Nepalese origin. With these recoveries, all three victims involved in the accident have been accounted for.
Shillai SDM Jaspal Singh confirmed that following a post-mortem examination, the body of driver Anil Kumar was handed over to his family. The bodies of the two Nepalese workers have been sent to Paonta Sahib for post-mortem procedures scheduled for the following day.
Taking strict cognizance of the incident, District Mining Officer Sarit Chandra stated that an impartial inquiry will be conducted to ascertain the exact circumstances and underlying causes that led to the accident. Detailed investigations into the technical aspects and operational facts surrounding the site are currently underway.
