Chhattisgarh: 2 dead, one injured after coal mine wall collapses on them in Korba

Two people were killed, and another sustained critical injuries, after a portion of the boundary wall of a coal mine collapsed on them in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district on Tuesday, the police said.

Kobra superintendent of police Siddharth Tiwari said the incident took place in the wee hours of the day at the South Eastern Coalfields Limited’s (SECL) Gevra open-cast coal mine under the Hardi Bazar police station limits.

“As per locals, three people had allegedly entered the mine to steal coal when a portion of the boundary wall of the Dipka and Gevra mines suddenly collapsed,” Tiwari said.

A rescue operation was immediately launched, following which the bodies of Vishal Yadav (18) and Dhan Singh Kanwar (24) were retrieved.

Yadav and Kanwar died after getting trapped under the debris, while the third person, Sahil Dhanwar, sustained injuries.

Dhanwar is recovering at the district hospital, and a probe is underway.

SECL’s public relations officer Sanish Chandra said that the trio may have tried stealing coal from the mine’s boundary wall, resulting in the collapse of the coal layer.

The SECL management has appealed to locals to avoid such risky and illegal activities, the official added.