Locals claim several people were trapped in the Dhanbad coal mine collapse, but none were found during rescue operations

On Thursday, April 21, a 60-foot ‘kachcha’ road near Bharat Coking Coal Limited’s (BCCL) temporarily closed mining lease area in Dhanbad, Jharkhand, collapsed. According to news agency ANI, the incident occurred around 8:30 a.m., according to the Deputy Commissioner of Dhanbad.

Local villagers claimed that several people were believed to be trapped in the abandoned coal mine shortly after the incident was reported, but officials later said that no one was found during a rescue operation until late in the evening.

BCCL authorities launched a rescue operation in the abandoned mine on Thursday evening, but no one was found during the four-hour search, which ended at 8.30 p.m., according to news agency PTI. “There were no casualties,” said AK Dutt, the General Manager of the Chanch Victoria colliery area.

According to local villagers, illegal mining caused an area, including a village road, to collapse in the morning, trapping several people who were present at the time. At around 4.30 p.m., a BCCL rescue team from Dhanbad was dispatched to the scene to search for any trapped individuals.

According to reports, it is illegal to enter an abandoned mine to look for coal, but locals frequently do so with very little safety equipment, resulting in accidents.

There is no sign of anyone being trapped, according to Dhanbad Sub-Divisional Magistrate Prem Kumar Tiwari, who was on the scene with other administrative and police officers during the search operation. No one has come forward to say that a family member is trapped in the mine.

A road caved in at Dumrijor village in Chanch Victoria colliery area under Chirkunda police station last week, causing traffic congestion and power outages in the area.

Five people died in an ECL abandoned mine collapse at Gopinathpur in Dhanbad during illegal mining in February of this year. To investigate the incident, the state government formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT). In the last four years, at least 24 people have died in incidents related to illegal mining in Nirsa, according to a report.