7 killed, 3 inured in coal mine explosion in West Bengal’s Birbhum

At least seven persons were killed and three were injured in an explosion in a coal mine in West Bengal’s Birbhum district on Monday morning, police said.
The blast took place when explosives, kept in a truck, went off around 10am at the Gangaramchak and Gangaramchak-Bhadulia coal block at Khayrasole in Birbhum, around 200 km north west of Kolkata.
“Seven persons have been killed while three have been injured in the explosion. The injured persons have been shifted to a State-run hospital in Suri, the district’s headquarters,” said a senior police officer.
Locals said that body parts of the victims and metal scraps of the vehicle in which the explosion took place were landed at least 500 – 700 metres away. A large police contingent rushed to the spot.
“The incident took place when the truck, laden with explosives, was parked in the area and men were unloading materials. It was the peak work hours,” a local resident told media persons.
The mine was allotted to the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited in 2015 by the Union coal ministry. M/s Gangaramchak Mining Pvt Ltd was the mine developer and operator for this mine. Extraction had started from 2020.
The families of the victims rushed to the spot. The family of one victim declined to hand over the body to the police demanding that the kin of the victim’s family be given a job and family be given compensation and a house.