Chhattisgarh: Four Killed In Mine Collapse In Korea District

At least four people were killed after a mine in Chhattisgarh's Korea district collapsed on Wednesday.

At least four people were killed after a mine in Chhattisgarh's Korea district collapsed on Wednesday.

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At least four people were killed after a mine in Chhattisgarh's Korea district collapsed on Wednesday. A rescue operation is underway.

According to Korea district collector Vinay Kumar Langeh, the incident occurred this evening near Banjaridand village, located in a forest area, as the victims were digging white clay. The victims were identified as Puja Gond and Ramsundar from Potedand village, and Manmati and Meera Bai from Gadtar village, reported news agency PTI.

Preliminary information suggests that a portion of earth caved in when they were digging the soil, resulting in their being trapped under the debris and dying on the spot. Upon being alerted, a police team arrived at the scene of the accident and retrieved the bodies. The bodies were sent for post-mortem, and further investigation is ongoing.

Last year, six people died when a white clay mine in the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh collapsed. Five of the deceased were women.  The incident took place in Maalgaon village, 12 km from the district headquarters of Jagdalpur, under the Nagarnar police station area. A financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the victims' families. 

In January, several people were trapped in a coal mine in West Bengal's Kulti when it collapsed on them. They were reportedly illegally mining coal from the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) mining. Another accident was reported from Meghalaya's Rymbai, in which three were reported dead.

According to the ENVIS Centre on Environmental Problems of Mining, there were at least six mining accidents in 2022. They were reported from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Haryana. A total of 17 deaths were reported as a result of these accidents. ENVIS Centre on Environmental Problems of Mining data states 31 deaths in 10 mining accidents across India. 

One coal miner died on the job every 12 days on an average in 2020, reported news agency Reuters, citing government data.