Jharkhand: Five dead after part of coal mine caves in

Five people including four women were found dead in the Dhanbad district of Jharkhand after they were trapped in an open cast coal mine, part of which caved in, officials said. The incident occurred Tuesday morning at the Eastern Coalfields’ open cast mine in the Gopinathpur area of Dhanbad.

Officials said that following rescue efforts, three women and one man’s dead bodies were brought out and one woman was rushed to the hospital for treatment, but was later found dead. All five had gone to the mine to get coal and sell it in the market as well as to use it in their house as fuel.

Dhanbad Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Singh said: “We received information on a few people being trapped in the ECL Mugma area. We coordinated with the ECL GM (General Manager), and the SDM and the police went to the spot to check. It was a prohibited area and we have asked the ECL to use the CISF personnel to increase their security. A total of five persons were found dead.”

Last year in November, four persons were trapped in an abandoned coal mine in Bokaro district of Jharkhand. Although they were feared dead, all four made their way back home.