New Delhi: At least three people died on Thursday when a portion of coal mine caved in at Barjora area of West Bengal’s Bankura district.
Estimates say seven villagers were in the mine when it caved in. The mine was taken over by the state-run West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL), but was not operational. Mining rights were initially allocated to the Damodar Valley Corporation, which then engaged Bengal Emta Coal Company, to mine and transport coal. The lease was cancelled after the coal scam surfaced and operations came to a halt.
The dead were identified as Biswanath Bagdi, Habal Bagdi and Kali Bagdi. 22-year-old Rinku Barui was missing, while Ranjit Bagdi and Sumitra Bagdi were rescued. The latter two were taken to the state-run Bankura Sammilani Medical College and Hospital in a serious condition, according to a Hindustan Times report. The incident took place around 8 am .
Sumitra Bagdi apparently went into the mine to collect coal for cooking. She was rescued by locals.
The state’s power minister Sovandeb Chattopadhyay said, “Since we are yet to get the land rights, we are unable to post security guards. It’s a very unfortunate incident.”
He said the WBPDCL was asked to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.
According to The Telegraph, because the mine’s coal faces have been open for the past few years, residents from the adjoining villages extracted coal from the pit without authorisation.
Barjora police station inspector Arup Sarkar said at least seven people from Maliara entered the pit to extract coal. During this, a portion of the pit caved in.
In December last year, an illegal mine in Meghalaya flooded, trapping 15 miners. Rescue efforts are continuing even 45 days after the incident, though all the miners are feared to be dead. Two decomposed bodies have been identified, but only was pulled out.