At least 54 miners were feared dead in eastern India after the roof of a state-owned coal mine collapsed following an explosion, a mine official said on Thursday.
The incident took place in the Dhanbad district of the eastern state of Jharkhand late on Wednesday.
As many as 57 miners had entered the mine in the western Jharia area, about 170km north of state capital Ranchi, when a blast to open up a new mining area caused the roof collapse, releasing deadly methane gas, the official said.
”This is an unprecedented situation and the chances of their survival are zero,” Partha Bhattacharya, chairperson of Bharat Coking Coal Limited, told Reuters.
”The miners were working at a depth of 460m when the explosion and the gas leak reduced the oxygen level to almost zero,” Bhattacharya, whose state-run firm owns the mine, said.
Although rescue operations were launched overnight, officials said they had given up on finding any survivors as rescue teams had only been able to get past level six or seven of the 18-level mine.
The 54 miners were believed to be trapped in the last level.
Thousands of locals, including families of the 54 men, crowded outside the mines and shouted slogans criticising the state government and accusing the mining firm of a poor safety record.
Wives and mothers of the miners wailed and children cried. — Reuters