Explosion in illegal Indian coal mine kills 18: police
At least 18 people died on Thursday after an explosion ripped through an illegal coal mine in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya, officials said.
“During the course of the rescue operation, a total of 18 dead bodies have been recovered from the site of the explosion,” local police said in a statement.
Eight other people were injured, said Manish Kumar, top official in East Jaintia Hills district, where the explosion happened.
Rescuers were digging through the rubble at the site to find out if more miners were trapped inside but the operations halted at sundown.
Kumar said it was an “illegal rat-hole mine” and that authorities were awaiting personnel from state and federal disaster management agencies to resume the search on Friday morning.
Rat-hole mines are deep vertical shafts dug mostly into hillsides that branch out into narrow tunnels to reach and retrieve coal and other minerals.
A federal environment court banned rat-hole mining in Meghalaya in 2014 after local communities complained it was polluting water sources and putting lives at risk.
But it’s still widely practised across the state, especially in the East Jaintia Hills.
District police chief Vikash Kumar told AFP that the explosion was likely due to a dynamite blast but added that further forensic investigation was underway.
“After the explosion, a fire happened. Lots of toxic gas has accumulated,” Vikash Kumar said.
“A dynamite explosion had occurred at an illegal coal mine in East Jaintia Hills. This happened today at around 11am. As per the current reports, about 18 people are dead because of this blast,” Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma told reporters.
He said one person was injured and has been taken to a hospital, and authorities, including police, are present at the site.
Sangma wrote on X that the government has ordered a "comprehensive inquiry" into the accident.
Profoundly saddened by the tragic coal mine incident in East Jaintia Hills. My deepest sympathies are with the families who have lost their loved ones in this unfortunate tragedy.
The Government of Meghalaya has ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the incident. Accountability…“Accountability will be fixed, and those responsible will face strict legal action. There will be no compromise when it comes to the safety of lives,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained by the mishap”.
“Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest,” he said in a statement on social media.
The families of the deceased would receive 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,216) compensation, the statement said.
Pained by the mishap in East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest.
An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM…