Two women died and several others were hospitalised in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad after suspected toxic gas leaked from an underground fire zone within a Bharat Coking Coal Limited mining site, The Indian Express reported.
The deaths occurred on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning when they were being taken to the hospital.
Lalita Devi, 58, and Priyanka Devi, 44, were found unconscious in their homes, about 300 to 400 metres from the leak site. With their windows shut because of the cold, neighbours believe the gas entered through cracks in the ground, the newspaper reported.
At least seven to eight others who had fainted earlier in the week are being treated in hospitals.
The district administration has said it will form a committee to investigate the matter.
Residents of the Kenduadih Rajput Basti have alleged the toxic gas had been escaping for nearly four days.
“Everyone knows it is an underground fire area,” a resident told The Indian Express. “Gas leakage happens here repeatedly, but no permanent action has ever been taken.”
Officials from the Bharat Coking Coal Limited and the district administration visited the area on Thursday, asking families to leave their homes immediately.
Hundreds of residents have since moved into makeshift shelters in the area, refusing to relocate without written assurances on compensation for the dead, permanent rehabilitation and recognition of...
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