Buried under tonnes of soil after clay mine collapse, 2 children among 3 dead in Madhya Pradesh
The incident took place when a group of women and children entered a shallow pit to extract chhui, a white-and-yellow clay traditionally used for plastering houses
3 min readBhopalUpdated: Jan 26, 2026 04:57 AM IST
The incident has put a spotlight on the dangers of informal mining and soil extraction in tribal and rural belts of Madhya Pradesh, where women and children routinely enter unstable pits to collect mud for domestic use, often at the cost of their lives. (Express photo)
Three people, including two minor girls, were killed and two women critically injured on Sunday afternoon after a clay mine collapsed in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district.
The incident occurred at around 1.21 pm in Parsohar village, when a group of women and children entered a shallow pit to extract chhui, a soft, white-and-yellow clay traditionally used for plastering houses. While they were there, a large section of the loose earth caved in, burying five people under tonnes of soil.
Police identified the deceased as Preeti Singh (10) and Basanti (16), both residents of Harhawa village, and Phoolmati Yadav (50), a resident of Bandha village. Two other women, Kaushalya Singh (50) of Parsohar village and Sakmuni Singh (45) of Chandreha village, were pulled out alive but unconscious and rushed to a hospital, where their condition remains serious.
The incident has put a spotlight on the dangers of informal mining and soil extraction in tribal and rural belts of Madhya Pradesh, where women and children routinely enter unstable pits to collect mud for domestic use, often at the cost of their lives.
Police said the victims were inside the pit when the collapse occurred. “Five people were extracting chhui from the mine when the soil suddenly gave way. Three died on the spot, while two women were rescued in an unconscious state and sent for treatment,” said a police officer, adding that an inquiry has been initiated.
The collapse triggered panic in the village, with family members and neighbours rushing to the site after hearing screams from beneath the earth. Villagers initially attempted to dig out the trapped victims using spades and pickaxes before informing the sarpanch and police.
“We heard shouting and ran towards the mound. The soil had already settled by then. We tried digging with whatever tools we had,” said Satish Singh, a local resident, adding, “This mound has red and yellow soil, which people often dig for household work. We have warned people many times that it is dangerous, but poverty forces them to keep coming back.”
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Police teams from the Kundwar outpost and Jiawan police station reached the spot shortly after being alerted. Given the depth of the collapse and the unstable soil, an earth excavator machine was requisitioned to carry out the rescue. The bodies and injured women were eventually pulled out after several hours of excavation.
Police said the victims were found at different depths, indicating that the collapse happened in stages rather than as a single slide. “The soil here is extremely loose. Once it starts slipping, it keeps falling inward,” a police officer involved in the rescue said.
Police have sent the bodies for postmortem examination. Officials said further investigation would examine whether the site had been previously identified as hazardous and whether adequate warnings or restrictions were enforced.
Anand Mohan J is an award-winning Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, currently leading the bureau’s coverage of Madhya Pradesh. With a career spanning over eight years, he has established himself as a trusted voice at the intersection of law, internal security, and public policy.
Based in Bhopal, Anand is widely recognized for his authoritative reporting on Maoist insurgency in Central India. In late 2025, he provided exclusive, ground-level coverage of the historic surrender of the final Maoist cadres in Madhya Pradesh, detailing the backchannel negotiations and the "vacuum of command" that led to the state being declared Maoist-free.
Expertise and Reporting Beats
Anand’s investigative work is characterized by a "Journalism of Courage" approach, holding institutions accountable through deep-dive analysis of several key sectors:
National Security & Counter-Insurgency: He is a primary chronicler of the decline of Naxalism in the Central Indian corridor, documenting the tactical shifts of security forces and the rehabilitation of surrendered cadres.
Judiciary & Legal Accountability: Drawing on over four years of experience covering Delhi’s trial courts and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, Anand deconstructs complex legal rulings. He has exposed critical institutional lapses, including custodial safety violations and the misuse of the National Security Act (NSA).
Wildlife Conservation (Project Cheetah): Anand is a leading reporter on Project Cheetah at Kuno National Park. He has provided extensive coverage of the biological and administrative hurdles of rewilding Namibian and South African cheetahs, as well as high-profile cases of wildlife trafficking.
Public Health & Social Safety: His recent investigative work has uncovered systemic negligence in public services, such as contaminated blood transfusions causing HIV infections in thalassemia patients and the human cost of the fertilizer crisis affecting rural farmers.
Professional Background
Tenure: Joined The Indian Express in 2017.
Locations: Transitioned from the high-pressure Delhi City beat (covering courts, police, and labor issues) to his current role as a regional lead in Madhya Pradesh.
Notable Investigations: * Exposed the "digital arrest" scams targeting entrepreneurs.
Investigated the Bandhavgarh elephant deaths and the impact of kodo millet fungus on local wildlife.
Documented the transition of power and welfare schemes (like Ladli Behna) in Madhya Pradesh governance.
Digital & Professional Presence
Author Profile: Anand Mohan J at Indian Express
Twitter handle: @mohanreports ... Read More
