Four men die after inhaling toxic gases inside abandoned coal mine in Madhya Pradesh

Image used for representational purpose. Pic/iStock

Four men who entered an abandoned underground mine in Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh allegedly with the intention to collect coal or scrap have died after inhaling toxic gas, a police official said on Friday.

The incident took place between 10pm and 11pm on Thursday in Dhanpuri, some 28 kilometres from the district headquarters, and the bodies were retrieved from the coal mine in the early hours of Friday, Superintendent of Police Kumar Prateek told PTI.

"The deceased have been identified as Raj Mahto (20), Hazari Kol (30), Rahul Kol (23) and Kapil Vishwakarma (21), all residents of Dhanpuri. The mine was closed for the last couple of years. Four persons entered the site, while one stood outside. The fifth person peeped inside after some time and found his associates unresponsive," he said.

Also read: Jharkhand: 4 bodies recovered, many feared trapped as 3 abandoned coal mines collapse

He alerted others, who called in the police, which put in four hours to retrieve the bodies of the men from inside the mine, the SP said. "Initial investigations suggest the men died after inhaling toxic gas emanating from the closed mine. A case has been registered and probe is underway," Prateek informed.

As per residents of the vicinity, the mine's opening is covered with bricks and cement, but some try to enter with iron rods etc to look for coal or scrap.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.