Two workers trapped after wall of opencast coal mine collapses in Jharkhand

Two workers were trapped after the wall of an open-pit mine in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh district collapsed on a truck, police said on Sunday, December 21, 2025.

“The accident took place at around 23:00 on Saturday, December 20, 2025, in the command area of ​​Central Coalfield Limited (CCL) under Urimari Police Station limits, when the high wall of the mine collapsed on the coal loading vehicle,” a senior official said.

Experts said that the high wall in mining is the exposed face of the overload and coal in the mine, and the stability of this wall is important for the safety of miners and equipment.

“The coal workers who were trapped in the truck when the accident occurred have been identified as Sunil Yadav (30) and Raju Paswan (50),” Barkagaon Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Pawan Kumar added.

“Rescue efforts are ongoing for two workers. One more person was rescued from the accident scene and taken to the hospital here,” he added. “On Saturday night, December 20, 2025, the trapped workers could not be rescued due to darkness, fog and the protest of the coal workers there,” he said.

“Workers in the open-pit mine stopped their coal extraction activities after the accident,” he said.