Dying from abandonment - 8 feared dead in mine mishap
Published by MAC on 2005-09-29
Dying from abandonment - 8 feared dead in mine mishap
29 September 2005
Central Chronicle
Hazaribag (Jharkhand) - At least eight persons were feared dead in a coal mine disaster at CCL's abandoned mine at Rajarappa today as two bodies were found duringrescue operation, official sources said.
The mishap took place when a large chunk of coal collapsed during illegal mining in the abandoned mine, Public Relations Officer of CCL B K Sinha, said here.
Deputy Commissioner Rahul Purwar, told newsmen that so far two bodies were recovered while some more persons were said to be trapped in CCL's Section One colliery at Rajarappa.
Six bodies, he added, were believed to be taken away by the relatives of the victims. Rescue operations by both CCL and the district authorities were going on to locate the trapped miners, which eyewitnesses claim could be in double-digit.
According to reports, over the years many labourers had lost their lives after being engaged by local contractors to extract coal illegally from abandoned public sector mines.
Such incidents go unreported as the victims' relatives either take away the bodies or leave them inside for fear of legal action, according to police. The Jharkhand administration has several times asked the collieries to fill their abandoned mines with sand to avert such accidents.CCL officials however, claim that they always fill up the mines before abandoning them.
Indian mine collapse kills three
BBC News
29th September 2005
At least three people have been killed and another 10 trapped after a coal mine collapsed in eastern India. The mine in mineral-rich Jharkhand state caved in when some villagers were stealing coal, authorities said.
Rescuers are trying to reach the trapped villagers in the state-owned mine in Rajrappa, a town 80km (50 miles) north of the capital, Ranchi.
Jharkhand, which has India's largest coal deposits, has suffered a number of serious mining accidents.
In June, 14 miners were trapped days after water flooded into the Bansgarha mine in Hazaribagh district.
The state's worst mine collapse occurred in 1975, when nearly 400 miners were killed.
Rescue delay
A local police official told the BBC that a layer of coal had collapsed on villagers who were illegally digging in a mine run by Central Coalfields.
"The residents of the village living near the mine make a living by stealing coal from the mine in connivance with some officials," local police chief Praveen Kumar said.
He said rescue operations had been delayed by the late arrival of coal company officials at the site. There was no comment from the firm.
Mr Kumar said he feared that 10 to 15 people were trapped in the debris.
A large number of villagers and anxious relatives of those trapped were at the scene and wanted rescue operations to begin immediately, reports said.