Asifabad: Two Rescue Team Members Washed Away

Kumram Bheem Asifabad/Mancherial: In a tragic incident, two members of a rescue team of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) were washed away in swirling backwaters of Peddavagu while they were shifting a pregnant woman to a hospital on the outskirts of Ainam village in Dahegaon mandal on Wednesday evening.

Kaghaznagar Rural Inspector K Nagaraju said that the deceased persons were Chelika Sathish (32), a miner from SRP3 opencast project from Sirke Colony and Ambala Ramulu, (29), general mazdoor mancherial members of the team went missing while they were shifting the woman to the hospital at a curve as the road which was submerged due to flooding Peddavagu.

A rescue team of six members from Mandamarri Area of SCCL arrived at Bibra village for shifting the woman to a hospital in Kaghaznagar based on a request from local Sirpur (T) MLA Koneru Konappa. While five members ventured to cross the road which was submerged by backwaters of Peddavagu, another member did not take part in the operation.

Three managed to bring the woman out from the road, but Sathish and Ramulu went missing in the waters at around 5 am. Local police launched a rescue operation and summoned a team of National Disaster Rescue Force, but in vain. The bodies were traced at the same spot where the five tried to cross the road on Thursday morning.

Meanwhile, coal miners and kin of the victims staged a dharna carrying bodies at Governemnt General Hospital in Mancherial district headquarters demanding compensation of Rs 2 crore to each family and a job to one of the family members on Thursday. The unions alleged that the SCCL sent the team without ensuring safety gear.

Authorities of SCCL, MLA Konappa and Bellampalli legislator Durgam Chinnaiah held consultations with the agitators and consoled the kin of the victims.

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