One killed, 2 feared trapped as mica mine wall collapses

A 16-year-old girl was killed while two others are feared trapped after the wall of a mica mine collapsed in Bhanekhap village in Nawada on Tuesday, officials said.

PATNA: A 16-year-old girl was killed while two others are feared trapped after the wall of a mica mine collapsed in Bhanekhap village in Nawada on Tuesday, officials said.

Sources in the district administration said that the villagers were lured by the mica-mining mafia to extract mica illegally and that they don’t adhere to safety norms. (Picture for representation)

According to officials, the incident took place around 3 am when five miners were extracting mica flakes. Hearing their screams, locals rushed to the spot and managed to rescue two of them, officials said.

“A rescue operation was initiated after officials reached the spot. The body of a 16-year-old girl was pulled out of the debris. The cousin of the deceased has accused one Lakhan Pandit of carrying out illegal mining of mica,” officials added.

Sources in the district administration said that the villagers were lured by the mica-mining mafia to extract mica illegally and that they don’t adhere to safety norms.

Rajkumar Paswan, forester of Rajauli East, said that strict action will be taken against the mine operator and those involved in the illegal activity. “The range officer has been instructed to submit a probe report at the earliest to initiate legal actions against the accused,” said an official.

“Most of such illegal mines operate in forest areas that are inaccessible. We demolish such mines as soon as we get information, but it is the responsibility of forest officials to conduct surveys to check illegal mines and seek help from the district administration to close them down. The district administration has ruled out giving compensation to the dependants of the deceased as it was an illegal mine. However, an FIR would be lodged against the owner of the mine,” said Rajauli sub-divisional officer (SDO) Aditya Kumar Piyush.