Jharkhand: Van carrying four people plunges into open cast mine after landslide

Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Sep 5 (PTI) A van carrying at least four people plunged 150 feet into the water accumulated at the bottom of an open cast mine after a landslide in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Friday, police said.

Several houses and some temporary structures near the open cast mine at BCCL Area-4 in Ramkanali police station area also collapsed.

However, no casualty has been reported so far.

Rescue operations have begun and local divers deployed to rescue those in the van, an official of the Dhanbad district administration said, adding a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also been called.

"A service van, carrying four to five persons, was parked at an opencast mine. Due to a sudden landslide, the van plunged into the water accumulated at the bottom of the mine. A rescue operation has been initiated to bring them out of the water," Baghmara Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Purushottam Singh told PTI.

He said the exact number of people, who were in the van, could only be ascertained after they are brought out of the water. PTI SAN ACD