NEW DELHI, June 9: At least three people were killed and many feared trapped when an illegally operated coal mine collapsed in Jharkhand’s Bhowra colliery area near Dhanbad on Friday, an official said.
The incident occurred around 10.30 am at Bhowra Colliery Area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), about 20 kilometres from Dhanbad. The mine later was declared closed.
Local residents reached the spot, began pulling out people from the debris and rushed five people to nearby hospitals. Three people – a child, a woman and a 25-year-old man – were declared dead.
The Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Sindri, Abhishek Kumar, however, said the exact number of people killed and feared trapped or injured is not yet known, He said the rescue operations were underway. The eyewitness said many local villagers were engaged in illegal mining when the mine caved in. “With the help of the locals, three persons were brought out from the debris and taken to a hospital where doctors declared them dead,” the eyewitness said.
An inspector from the Jorapokhar police station, who was present at the spot, said they had received information that several people were stuck under the debris after a portion of a coal mine had caved in. “More information will be known only after investigation,” he said.
Witness Vinod Kumar Sudhakar said, “The authorities were slow to react despite us informing them about the collapse. We pulled out a few people and sent them to hospitals. Illegal mining is widespread here and many complaints have been made, but no action has been taken.” “The result of ignoring the complaints is before us,” he added.
Another local resident said, “Illegal mining is a daily occurrence here. A similar incident had happened in the area some time ago. Some people had been injured, but there were no deaths. We have made several complaints, but to no avail.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
