Jharkhand: Woman falls into crater that opens up instantly, dies
RANCHI: A 30-year-old woman on Friday fell into a crater suddenly formed below her feet while she was defecating in the open in Jharkhand's Jharia early on Friday.
Locals said that the incident took place after the ground under the woman’s feet, all of a sudden, caved in without giving her an opportunity to get out of it.
The woman's daughter Komal (7) said she had gone to defecate along with her mother in the morning. She further said that she was a step behind her when the incident took place.
“I cried for help but by the time people could arrive, she already had disappeared into the ground,” said Komal. Some people definitely came for help but it was too late, she added.
Deceased’s husband Dilip Bauri also informed that the incident took place at around 7:30 am when her wife Kalyani Devi had gone for defecation along with his daughter.
Meanwhile, locals blocked Jharia-Dhanbad Main Road after the local administration did not reach there even after three hours of the incident. Finally, local administration reached there and recovered the body after six hours with the help of locals and a JCB machine.
At Jharia and nearby regions, the fire continues to devour the underground at many areas as coal continues to burn a few metres below the earth’s surface.
Earlier also, at least five people have lost their lives in similar incidents in the last five years, but no concrete action has been taken so far to vacate the area. The Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) has served notices to the people living in the region, but according to locals, no concrete arrangement has been done by BCCL to relocate them.
Though it is not exactly known how the fire was started, the first fire in Jharia mines was reported in 1916. BCCL officials claimed that coal fires may have been caused by lightning, forest fires, human accidents, and improper shutting down of old mines. It is understood that the fire started when the mines were owned by private parties, who used conventional techniques to dig out the coal.