New Delhi: At least seven people have been killed after some portion of a limestone mine collapsed on them at their village in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh on Friday, police said, reported news agency PTI.
They claimed that six women were among the deceased.
A police official in this area stated that the incident occurred in Maalgaon village, which is located 12 kilometers from Jagdalpur, the district's headquarters.
"The victims were digging soil in the mine when a part of it caved in, due to which they got trapped under the debris," he said.
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He stated that police personnel rushed to the location and launched the rescue operation as soon as they were informed of it.
He said that while five people died on the spot, two more perished while being transported to a hospital.
According to the preliminary information, only seven individuals were digging the soil, but rescue efforts are still ongoing, the police personnel said.
In April, a 60-foot ‘kachcha’ road near the temporarily closed mining lease area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, collapsed on Thursday, April 21. The incident occurred at around 8:30 am, the Deputy Commissioner of Dhanbad said, news agency ANI reported.
Soon after the incident was reported, local villagers claimed that several persons are feared trapped in the abandoned coal, but officials later said that no one was found during a rescue operation till late evening.
BCCL authorities launched a rescue operation in the abandoned mine but none was found during the four-hour search till 8.30 pm when they stopped the exercise, news agency PTI reported. "There was no casualty," General Manager of Chanch Victoria colliery area, AK Dutt, said.