70 Drown in India Coal Mine Shaft
At least 70 miners trapped inside two coal mines in eastern India were drowned by waters from a flooded river gushing into the shaft, officials said Wednesday.
The governor of the eastern state of Bihar directed officials to provide immediate relief to those affected by the accident.
Bihar Chief Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav demanded that the federal coal ministry conduct a high-level probe into the disaster.
Yadav said the mines near Dhanbad should be thoroughly investigated for safety violations.
This is the second major coal mine tragedy in Dhanbad since 1975, when more than 300 miners died after water entered the Chasnala mines.
A spokesman for Coal India Ltd. in Calcutta said 91 workers were in mines belonging to its Bharat Coking Coal unit Tuesday night when the nearby Gaslitand River burst its banks and poured into the shaft.
The miners were caught by surprise as water gushed in, officials said.
Officials said rescuers pulled out some workers from the mines, but the remaining were trapped.
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