Chhattisgarh: Three dead after portion of abandoned coal mine caves in at Korba district

Chhattisgarh news: Three people were feared dead after a portion of an abandoned coal mine caved in at Korba district in Chhattisgarh today (February 22), police said. Two other persons managed to come out of the mine, they added.

The incident took place at around 3:00 pm when the victims illegally entered the abandoned open cast mine of South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) in Dipka area under Hardi Bazar police station limits to fetch coal, a senior police official said.

As per preliminary information, five people were engaged in illegal excavation of coal from the mine when suddenly a portion of it collapsed and they got trapped under the debris, he said. Soon after being alerted about the collapse, teams of mine management, Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and police reached the post and launched a rescue operation, the official said.

Two of the five men managed to come out of the debris, but three others remained trapped, he said. Efforts were on to locate the trio, but chances of their being alive are very slim, he said.