Dying from abandonment - 8 feared dead in mine mishap
Published by MAC on 2005-09-29
Dying from abandonment - 8 feared dead in mine mishap
29 September 2005
Central Chronicle
Hazaribag (Jharkhand) - At least eight persons were feared dead in a coal mine disaster at CCL's abandoned mine at Rajarappa today as two bodies were found duringrescue operation, official sources said.
The mishap took place when a large chunk of coal collapsed during illegal mining in the abandoned mine, Public Relations Officer of CCL B K Sinha, said here.
Deputy Commissioner Rahul Purwar, told newsmen that so far two bodies were recovered while some more persons were said to be trapped in CCL's Section One colliery at Rajarappa.
Six bodies, he added, were believed to be taken away by the relatives of the victims. Rescue operations by both CCL and the district authorities were going on to locate the trapped miners, which eyewitnesses claim could be in double-digit.
According to reports, over the years many labourers had lost their lives after being engaged by local contractors to extract coal illegally from abandoned public sector mines.
Such incidents go unreported as the victims' relatives either take away the bodies or leave them inside for fear of legal action, according to police. The Jharkhand administration has several times asked the collieries to fill their abandoned mines with sand to avert such accidents.CCL officials however, claim that they always fill up the mines before abandoning them.