Several people are feared trapped after an illegal mine collapsed in Dhanbad on Thursday. The district administration and the Jharkhand Mines Department have launched rescue operations at the Chanch Victoria colliery of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) in Chirkunda area of Nirsa, about 45 km from Dhanbad town.
While district officials are not sure if anyone is trapped inside the collapsed mine, local people and journalists said around a dozen persons, engaged in illegal mining of coal, are feared to have been caught inside.
“The exact number of people trapped inside the collapsed mine is yet to be known… we’re still waiting for more details,” said Amit Kumar, Director of Mines Department. “The rescue operation is on there to save human life, if anyone trapped there,” he added.
As recently as February this year, at least five people had lost lives in similar incident when an abandoned mine caved-in at Gopinathpur also in Dhanbad. Close to 24 people have died in the Nirsa area of the district in the last four years in incidents related to illegal coal mining in abandoned mines, said officials.
