Jharkhand Coalfield Fires Claim Father-Son Duo

Jharia (Jharkhand): In a shocking incident, two persons - a man and his son - fell into coal field fire in north eastern Jharkhand's Jharia town.

While 14-year-old Rahim Khan accidentally fell into the coalfield fire while cleaning the frontyard of his shop. Seeing him falling into the crater, his 40-year-old father Bablu Khan jumped in to save his son. Soon, both were reduced to ashes in the smouldering crater. Even after 28 hours of operations, the bodies could not be retrieve. The rescue team had to abandon the place as the heat was unbearable.

Jharia town is known for underground coalfield fires. At least 70 instances of coal field fires have occurred during the last 100 years. The first fire was noticed in 1916. Many people claim that the town was sitting on a tinder box.