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Worker feared dead after falling into abandoned mine on fire Ramgarh, Jharkhand

Ravindra Mahto was a contractual worker engaged in firefighting operations

A resident of Jharia sites amid the fires on a coalfield in 2012

A resident of Jharia sites amid the fires on a coalfield (Representational Image/Oinam Anand/Express Archives)

A worker was feared dead after falling into an abandoned coal mine, which was on fire, in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district, officials said on Wednesday.

Ravindra Mahto, the deceased, was a contractual worker engaged in the firefighting operations at the mine near Bhuchungdih village in the Rajrappa police station area, they said.

Suddenly, the land subsided on Tuesday, and he fell into the burning mine, they added.

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“We started a search operation led by the NDRF last night, but the rescue team has indicated that there is little chance of recovering the body,” Ramgarh’s Deputy Commissioner Chandan Kumar said.

Central Coalfields Ltd’s General Manager of Rajrappa area, Kalyanji Prasad, said firefighting operations were underway at the abandoned mine following the direction of the state authorities.
“Although the burning mine is not part of CCL’s operations, we are fully cooperating with the administration to prevent the fire from spreading to the densely populated Bhuchungdih village,” he said.

The underground fire in the abandoned coal mine broke out on April 20.

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