After a three-day delay, a joint rescue operation led by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Mines Rescue Team of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) was launched on Thursday evening to trace workers feared trapped inside a closed underground mine in Block-2, Baghmara, Dhanbad, since July 22.
The operation involves a 35-member team from the NDRF and 15 personnel from BCCL’s rescue wing. An initial area inspection was conducted by the NDRF on Thursday morning, and full-fledged rescue efforts began in the evening after receiving clearance from the district authorities.
Work continued late into the night until 11:30 PM and resumed again on Friday morning around 11:30 AM.
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NDRF officials said that the operation began following demands from local MP Chandra Prakash Choudhary, who identified three locations where people might be trapped. Rescue teams are currently working at the first site and will move to the others in sequence.
The incident allegedly occurred on Tuesday during illegal mining when the roof of the abandoned mine caved in. The collapse happened near the Jamunia River at Kesargarha under Baghmara Police Station limits.
It is feared that at least nine individuals, reportedly hired by a coal theft syndicate, were buried under the debris. Local residents claimed that up to 15 workers were inside the mine at the time, and that the collapse was caused by the failure of unstable carbon-rich rock supported by weak pillars.
Initially, both BCCL officials and the Dhanbad police dismissed these reports as unverified. However, after visiting the site, MP Chandra Prakash Choudhary and Jamshedpur West MLA Saryu Roy confirmed the likelihood of people being trapped.
The MP staged a sit-in at the local police station and filed a formal complaint, prompting officials to act. The protest ended after police assured that rescue work would begin without further delay.
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