Several feared trapped in BCCL abandoned coal mine collapse

Several persons are feared trapped in an abandoned coal mine in Dhanbad district after it collapsed during illegal mining on Thursday, officials said.

The exact number of people trapped or details of the mine accident are yet to be known.

"Some villagers are feared trapped and rescue operation is on. Details of the incident are awaited," the director of the mines department of Jharkhand government, Amit Kumar told PTI.

A BCCL spokesperson when contacted said information of an incident at an abandoned coal mine in Chanch Victoria colliery area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) at Nirsa, 45 km from here has been received but so far there is no confirmation about people trapped in it.

Neither the Dhanbad senior superintendent of police nor superintendent of police, rural, could be contacted despite repeated attempts.

In February at least five persons had lost their lives in an ECL abandoned mine collapse at Gopinathpur in Dhanbad during illegal mining and the government had formed a special investigation team to probe the incident.

At least 24 lives were lost in incidents related to illegal mining at Nirsa in the last four years, officials said.