At least six persons were killed when a truck loaded with explosives blew up at an open-cast coal mine in Birbhum's Khoirasole on Monday morning.
"Six people have been killed in the explosion so far. Three more were injured and admitted to Suri hospital," said Rana Mukherjee, the additional superintendent of police, Bolpur.
Villagers claimed that nine people had been killed in the explosion. The police, however, did not endorse the claim.

Although the West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited (WBPDCL) owns the open-cast Gangaramchak and Gangaramchak-Bhadulia coal mines, a private company is responsible for the mining operations.
A senior official of WBPDCL said the explosion occurred when the vehicle was transporting explosives for regular blasts used to excavate coal.

"The explosion happened in the vehicle. The agency concerned will investigate the exact cause behind the mishap," the official said.

A large number of local villagers turned up at the coal mine after the incident took place. They agitated demanding compensation for the deceased and punishment for those in the mining agency responsible for the death of at least half a dozen men.

"There was a sound of explosion but we did not bother immediately as that was a regular phenomenon (because of blasting). However, later we came to know that many people were killed," a villager said.

Apart from two of the deceased, who were crew members responsible for conducting the explosion, the remaining four were local workers who were supposed to arrange the explosives inside the coal block.

When asked how such an explosion occurred, Mukherjee said that a forensic team was investigating to determine the actual cause of the explosion.

Chief secretary Manoj Pant announced on Monday evening that each of the deceased's families would receive Rs 32 lakh in compensation, and one family member would be offered the job of a home guard.

"The state government will provide Rs 2 lakh, Rs 10 lakh will be granted from allowance under the labour act and the concerned mining agency will contribute Rs 20 lakh to the families of each victim," said a senior state government official.

Despite senior government officials claiming that the explosion was an accident, questions have arisen since it took place while unloading explosives from the vehicle.

Usually, gelatin sticks and detonators are used to carry out explosions in opencast coal mines. An explosion only occurs when the detonator is charged, said experts.

"It is very mysterious as no one would connect the detonator with the gelatin stick inside the vehicle. So, there may have been mishandling while unloading explosives and it triggered the blast," said a senior police officer.

According to him, there must have been a spark to detonate the explosives.

Police have seized thousands of illegal gelatin sticks and detonators from different parts of Birbhum in the past few years. The NIA has been investigating cases related to the recovery of those explosives.

The illegal trade of explosives is active for conducting explosions in illegal coal mines and stone quarries. However, in this case, the coal mine is legal, and no illegal explosives should have been used to excavate coal.

Birbhum police chief Raj Narayan Mukherjee declined to comment on how the explosion occurred in a PDCL open-cast coal mine.

BJP Rajya Sabha MP Samik Bhattacharya demanded an NIA probe to determine whether the explosion was an accident or a sabotage.

"It is a tragic incident in which many people died in the explosion. We demand an NIA probe to find out whether it was merely an accident or if there was any sabotage," said Bhattacharya.

His party colleague Suvendu Adhikari also urged the NIA to look into the blast.
"The National Investigating Agency (NIA) is already investigating a case related to 81,000 gelatin sticks and detonators that were recovered from the adjacent Mohammad Bazar area of Birbhum district. Any connection between the two should also be probed in order to rule out any foul play. There are proper SOPs for such life threatening risky jobs and meticulous adherence is a must. Authorities should be extra careful regarding compliance, so that such incidents can be avoided in the future," Adhikari wrote on X.