Illegal Mining: Many Feared Trapped As 3 Abandoned Coal Mines Collapse

Picture courtesy NDTV

Dhanbad: Many people were feared trapped after three abandoned coal mines collapsed on Monday and Tuesday in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district.

In what was illegal mining, the first mishap took place at Eastern Coalfield Limited’s (ECL) outsourcing project in Nirsa area around 5 pm on Monday, according to the Dhanbad SSP.

Number of casualties can be ascertained once rescue operation is completed, he added.

The second incident was at Bharat Coking Coal Limited mine in Nirsa on Monday night, while the third accident took place on Tuesday at ECL’s Gopinathpur open cast mines in Panchet, The Indian Express reported.

A number of slippers were found at the entry gates of the mines, leading to apprehension that many were under the debris.

Villagers reportedly rescued some of the miners who managed to come out of the debris, before police or rescue teams could reach the spot.