KORBA: Two persons allegedly engaged in illegal mining were killed when a portion of an abandoned coal mine caved in at Surajpur district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Friday.
The incident took place at Dugga opencast coal mine, which is not in operation, in Bhatgaon area on Thursday night, an official said.
"As per preliminary information, Sukhlal Rajwade (22) and Ramkeshwar Rajwade (32) had entered the mine to steal coal. While extracting coal, a portion of the mine collapsed and they got trapped under the soil and died on the spot," Surajpur Superintendent of Police Ramkrishna Sahu said.
A team from Bhatgaon police station reached the spot after some locals alerted them about the incident, and the bodies were extricated and sent for post-mortem on Friday, he said.
A case has been registered in this connection and further investigation is underway, Sahu said.
Surajpur, a neighbouring district of Korba, is located around 300 km from capital Raipur.