LIVE: Coal mine collapses in Jharkhand, 9 dead; Piyush Goel, ECL, CM announce ex-gratia

Ranchi: Nine miners were killed and some others feared trapped after a coal mine caved-in in Lalmatia in Jharkhand on Thursday night, police said on Friday. Rescue operations began in the morning.  R R Mishra, officiating CMD of ECL, a Coal India arm, said that the mishap occurred at around 7.30 PM last night when excavators were working there following which rescue operations was launched immediately. LIVE UPDATES:

• Union Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goel said that an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh has been announced for the families of the victims.
• Eastern Coalfields Limited(ECL) announces ex-gratia compensation of Rs 5 lakh each to family of the deceased.

ANI Photo

• 9 bodies recovered so far, all 10 mining equipment extracted.

ANI Photo

• PM Modi is saddened by the loss of lives at a mine in Jharkhand.

Saddened by the loss of lives at a mine in Jharkhand. My prayers are with those trapped inside. Spoke to CM Raghubar Das on the situation.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 30, 2016

Jharkhand Government & Minister @PiyushGoyal are working to restore normalcy. @NDRFHQ has been engaged for rescue & relief operations.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 30, 2016

• Death toll rises to 7, rescue operations underway.

ANI Photo

• High level committee of experts constituted by Coal India Ltd to investigate into causes of mine collapse.
• Enquiry ordered by the Director General of Mines Safety says Coal Ministry.
• Prime Minsiter Modi speaks to Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das to enquire about the mine collapse.

• CM Das announces Rs 2 lakh for the deceased, 25000 for the injured.

• Rajiv Ranjan, CMD ECL & WCL  says :

Rescue operation started yesterday & is in full swing , power cut was restored within 3 hours. 3 excavators,7 dumpers were identified at mining site where incident took place, 2 dumpers fled when land subsided. According to rules, 1 person is allowed per equipment & as 2 dumpers fled during incident,so number of people trapped may be less than 7.

• Jharkhand mine collapse: Three more NDRF teams from Patna, and one from Ranchi enroute to Lalmatia mine collapse site.
• One NDRF team from Patna enroute to Jharkhand mine collapse site in Lalmatia.
• CM Raghubar Das monitoring situation closely, asks concerned officials to intensify rescue operations.
• 40-50 workers feared trapped under the debris, rescue operations on. NDRF team from Patna on the way.
• NDRF team from Patna on the way.Additional manpower comprising 1 Go's;2 insp,21 CISF from ECL sheetalpur hqrs rushed.
• On duty CISF sentry is safe. Rescue operation is underway & electric supply has also been disrupted says CISF.
• Some machineries of pvt company along with around 40-50 workers are suspected to be trapped inside the debris,says CISF.
• Mine collapsed in Lalmatia in Jharkhand last night, many workers feared trapped. (injured being given medical aid in a hospital)

ANI Photo

• Mine collapsed in Lalmatia in Jharkhand last night.

Details: According to ANI, 40-50 workers and several vehicles are feared trapped under the debris. ANI Photo Heap of mud caved-in at the entry point of Latmatia mines of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) in Godda district, the police said. ANI Photo Chief Minister Raghubar Das is monitoring the situation closely and has asked concerned officials to intensify rescue operations, according to ANI. At the time of the cave-in at the Rajmahal Open Cast Mines of Paharia Bhorya site, more than 40 vehicles were inside. Rescue operation could not begin due to night fog, the police said. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team was likely to reach here by noon, officials said. "The exact number of people and vehicle trapped inside is not known. This could only become clear after the rescue operation starts," said Harilal Chauhan, Godda Superintendent of Police, earlier. The locals said that there was crack in the heap of mud which collapsed and blocked the entry point of the mine. ANI Photo Mining operations were taking place about 200 feet beneath the ground.