Updated on Friday at 12.30am
RANCHI: The government on Thursday announced relief for the families of 54 miners feared killed after a massive explosion in a coal mine near Dhanbad, Jharkhand, as officials said there was ‘little hope’ of their survival.
Union Coal Minister Shibu Soren announced Rs3,00,000 and a job for a family member of those who were trapped in the mine. He also ordered an inquiry into the accident.
Partho Bhattacharya, managing director of Bharat Coking Coal Ltd, which owns the stricken mine, said rescuers had sighted an unspecified number of dead miners.
“A few dead bodies have now been spotted and their recovery will begin soon,” Bhattacharya said after rescuers made their way into the shaft which collapsed on Wednesday following the explosion.
Residents had pulled out four miners working on the higher side of the Bhatdih colliery on Wednesday. Two of them suffered severe burns from splinters from the explosion. The explosion could have been caused by highly inflammable methane coming in contact with oxygen, a police officer said.
