A coal miner was killed and two of his colleagues were severely injured in the small hours of Sunday after a large chunk of coal collapsed on them during work at the Satgram coal mine of Eastern Coalfields Limited in West Burdwan’s Jamuria.

Police said the deceased was Saudagar Bhuniya, 40.ECL authorities rushed the injured workers to the company hospital in Kalla, Asansol. Some miners refused to shift Bhuniya’s body in protest of alleged negligence by the management.

The two injured miners were also admitted. Doctors said all of them had suffered severe head injuries and were critical.ECL officials said all of them were doing their night shift when the incident occurred during the small hours of Sunday.

“A large chunk of the coal roof collapsed on them (the miners) during excavations. We rushed the injured to our hospital but unfortunately one of the miners died in the accident inside the mine,” said an ECL official.

As the news spread, other coal miners, irrespective of their affiliation to trade unions, protested at the mine office against the incident, alleging negligence by the ECL management in taking care the safety of miners. Protesters also refused to bring up Bhuniya’s body from the mine. They demanded the immediate arrest of the mine authority concerned and compensation to the victim’s family members.

Work was stalled at the mine for the morning shift. “We were working in the night shift when the incident occurred in front of my eyes. I somehow escaped and was saved when the coal chunk collapsed. It is because of the negligence of the mining head who was leading us. He should have alerted us before the accident,” said an eyewitness.

A large police contingent rushed to the spot to control the situation from spiralling out of control. After a meeting with the ECL management and police, the agitators lifted the protest. ECL officials said that compensation, which includes the money and a job to one family member of the victim, would be given under the norms of Coal India. The ECL management and police later recovered the body and sent it to Asansol district hospital for a post-mortem.