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India explosion 'kills 30 miners' No survivors in India mine blast
(about 5 hours later)
Thirty miners trapped by an explosion in a coal mine in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand have been found dead, according to officials. Authorities in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand say that all 54 miners trapped after an explosion in a coal mine have died.
A search for more than 20 others at the Bhatdih colliery is continuing, but hopes for their survival are bleak. Rescuers have retrieved the bodies of 19 miners who died after the blast at the Bhatdih coal mine on Wednesday.
Sources at Bharat Coking Coal Limited, which owns the mine, say they would have had to contend with poisonous gases released after the explosion. Rescue work at the state-owned Bharat Coking Coal Limited mine has been hampered because of poisonous gases.
Jharkhand, with India's largest coal deposits, has had other such accidents. Mining accidents are common in Jharkhand, which has India's largest coal deposits.
This is an unprecedented situation and the chances of their survival are zero Partha Bhattacharya Bharat Coking Coal Limited Chaos
The BBC's Salman Ravi in the Jharkhand state capital, Ranchi, says only five miners who were working at the upper levels of the 460m-deep (1,500-foot) mine in western Jharia region have emerged after an explosion rocked the mine on Wednesday evening. The BBC's Salman Ravi in the Jharkhand state capital, Ranchi, says the rescue operation which began on Thursday night was marked by tension and chaos.
"The explosion was so powerful that I was thrown off my feet and I saw a trolley loaded with coal get ripped apart and break up," said Nunu Lal, a miner who managed to come out. Angry relatives of the trapped miners attacked coal company officials complaining of a delay in rescue operations.
A group of villagers then entered the mine forcibly and themselves retrieved the body of one of the miners, Manoj Mishra.
They refused to release the body for a post-mortem, demanding immediate compensation.
The standoff was only resolved when company officials released the officially declared compensation of 300,000 rupees ($6700) and promised a job to a relative.
Most of the bodies have been charred beyond recognition and many are being identified by the numbers on their helmet lamps.
On Wednesday evening, the 460m-deep (1,500-foot) mine in the western region of Jharia region was rocked by an explosion.
Only five miners who were working at the upper levels of the mine managed to escape.
"The explosion was so powerful that I was thrown off my feet and I saw a trolley loaded with coal get ripped apart and break up," said Nunu Lal, a miner who get out.
Officials said the cause of the explosion is unclear.Officials said the cause of the explosion is unclear.
Coal fires
Rescue work has been badly affected because of the high levels of carbon monoxide and methane gas in the mine.
"This is an unprecedented situation and the chances of their survival are zero," Bharat Coking Coal Limited chairman Partha Bhattacharya told Reuters news agency.
Mine disasters are common in mineral-rich Jharkhand state, home to a host of old, state-owned coal mines.Mine disasters are common in mineral-rich Jharkhand state, home to a host of old, state-owned coal mines.
In the Jharia area, where Wednesday's blast took place, mining work has been affected by underground fires that have raged since 1916, reports say.
Experts say the fires have been caused by unscientific and illegal mining.
Mine workers have died after mines have collapsed because of flooding in the past.
Accidents also happen when villagers enter abandoned mines to pick up coal - in August, between 30 and 40 people were trapped inside a mine after water from the nearby Damodar river flooded it.
There have been other accidents when the mines have simply caved in.There have been other accidents when the mines have simply caved in.
The state's worst mine collapse occurred in 1975, when nearly 400 miners were killed.The state's worst mine collapse occurred in 1975, when nearly 400 miners were killed.