Three persons were killed Friday when a huge chunk of coal caved in on them during illegal mining in the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) Rajapur open cast mines, police said.
The incident happened in the morning at a place under Jharia police station, 22 km from district headquarters Dhanbad.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Sindri range, P K Kesri said the three deceased were identified as Nageswar Mahto (40), Pankaj Kumar (20) and Chanda (14). All of them belonged to nearby Lilori Pathra village.
The incident occurred when several villagers were digging coal in the closed open cast mines when all of a sudden a large chunk of coal fell on them.
While the three persons were trapped under the coal, a few others suffered injuries but managed to escape from the spot fearing police action, the DSP said.
After getting information, the DSP Kesri and Jharia police station Inspector reached the spot. With the help of the BCCL staff, they brought out the bodies which were later sent for post-mortem, the DSP said.