200 workers rescued from Dhanbad coal mine

Nearly 200 workers were rescued from an underground coal mine in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district last evening, after poisonous gas leaked into the mine. The incident happened at the Jeetpur colliery, about 35 km from Dhanbad.

KLS Rao, general manager of the colliery – which is a unit of the Steel Authority of India Ltd – described it as a minor incident. Mining operations began this morning. ''The leakage has been sealed and the miners are safe,'' said Rao. A team has been set up to probe the leakage.

Dhanbad, also known as the coal capital of India, has more than a hundred mines that produce nearly 30 million tonnes of coal every year. Many of the mines are in a bad shape and accidents occur regularly.

The worst coal mine disaster in Dhanbad happened in May 1965, when an explosion in a colliery led to fire in the mines, resulting in the death of 375 miners.