Flames, smoke at closed mine in Jharkhand's Dhanbad trigger panic among people

Flames and thick smoke were spotted at a closed mine in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district, triggering panic among locals, an official said on Saturday.

The incident happened in the Chaitudih colliery, located in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), he said. The smoke enveloped the area, including the Lakarka colony, around 400 metres away from the incident site, the official said.

Locals claimed that thick smoke started billowing from the mine on Friday evening and intensified this morning. BCCL's Safety Officer (Katras) Abhishek Kumar said an operation was launched around 8.30 am to control the situation.

The Chaitudih underground mines were closed in 1997-98 due to fire threat, another official said.