One dead, eight trapped as Jharkhand mine caves in

RANCHI - One woman was killed as a mine caved in Monday morning in Jharkhand’s coal city Dhanbad, police said. Eight miners are feared trapped.

The accident occurred at the closed Khudia colliery of Eastern Coalfield Limited (ECL) in Dhanbad, some 260 km from here.

“Around 10 to 12 illegal miners were working at the ECL mine. The roof suddenly caved in, trapping nine of them. The woman’s body was removed by the villagers. The rest are still trapped,” a police officer told IANS.

More than 350 people have lost their lives in illegal coal mining in the state over the past decade.