Rain hits search operation at Dhanbad mine 'collapse' site

Spells of heavy rainfall on Saturday disrupted search operations at an abandoned coal mine in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district, where several political leaders had earlier claimed that people may have been buried alive due to a collapse during illegal mining, officials said.

No person has been found so far trapped in the abandoned mine, they claimed.

The search operation by a 35-member NDRF squad and a 15-member BCCL mines' rescue wing began on Thursday evening.

The operation resumed around 11.30 am on Saturday but they had to halt it around 12.30 pm due to heavy rains, a police officer said.

Baghmara police station in-charge Ajit Kumar, who has camping at the spot, said the operation would restart after rain stops.

The search operation was launched after several leaders claimed that many people were buried alive after the abandoned mine at Block 2 in Baghmara had collapsed.

Giridih MP CP Choudhary staged a dharna outside Baghmara police station on Thursday, demanding immediate rescue operations.

3 dead, many feared trapped in illegal coal mine collapse near Dhanbad

According to Choudhury, the incident happened on 22 July evening after the roof of the underground closed mine caved in.

"Out of three suspected sites, we have focused on the prime location. But, there was no trace of any person till 5 pm. Rains have disrupted search operations and we will resume it whenever rain stops," an NDRF official told PTI.

On Thursday, Jamshedpur West MLA Saryu Roy alleged that a large-scale cover-up was underway to conceal at least 15 deaths in the incident, calling it a case of "people being deliberately buried under fresh soil to destroy evidence".

On Wednesday, Choudhary had claimed that at least nine workers lost their lives. He said he has submitted a list of five people allegedly trapped there.

Officials of the Dhanbad district administration, BCCL and police claim that no signs of any such incident have been found so far.