Jharkhand: 5 Dead In Coal Mine Collapse, SIT Formed To Investigate Illegal Mining Angle

According to news agency PTI, the first mine collapsed on Monday evening at around 5 PM. The coal mine was under the Gopinathpur Open Cast Project (OCP) of Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL). 

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New Delhi: The death toll has reached five including four women in the Jharkhand coal mine accident. Dhanbad SSP Sanjeev Kumar told news agency ANI that the rescue operations are almost over, and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by SP Rural has been constituted to investigate the matter further.

He added that the Police have written to the Directorate General Of Mines Safety (DGMS) seeking a technical report to find out the cause of the collapse of the three abandoned mines.

Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren tweeted, "Some casualties have been reported from the coal mine located in Nirsa, Dhanbad. The district administration is actively engaged in rescue and relief work. May God grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the family to bear the difficult time of grief. Help is being provided to the injured."

धनबाद के निरसा में स्थित कोयला खदान से कुछ लोगों के हताहत होने की सूचना मिली है। जिला प्रशासन पूरी मुस्तैदी के साथ बचाव और राहत कार्य मे जुटा हुआ है।
परमात्मा दिवंगत आत्माओं को शांति प्रदान कर परिवार को दुःख की विकट घड़ी सहन करने की शक्ति दे। घायलों को मदद पहुँचायी जा रही है।

— Hemant Soren (@HemantSorenJMM) February 1, 2022

According to news agency PTI, the first mine collapsed on Monday evening at around 5 PM. The coal mine was under the Gopinathpur Open Cast Project (OCP) of Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL). 

The second mine collapsed on late Monday evening, followed by another on Tuesday evening. These two quarries that caved in Kapasara, also of ECL, and Chach Victoriya of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) are also feared to have buried miners.

Dhanbad-Rural Superintendent of Police Reeshma Ramesan told PTI that only the coal companies can clarify how many miners were there inside the mines.

While the SIT is investigating the case, the police believe it to be a case of illegal mining which led to the collapse of the mines. 

As per the PTI report, an ECL official said that since the accident happened in an abandoned mine, it comes under the jurisdiction of the district administration.

"There is no such information (of collapse) in our working mines. The collapse might have happened due to illegal activities in the abandoned mines," he added.