By IANS
Ranchi : An illegal miner, trapped in a mine accident in Jharkhand, was rescued after five days of efforts.
Malu Rai, 35, was one of 18 people who had gone Tuesday to extract coal from the Murilidih abandoned mine of the Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) in Dhanbad district, 240 km from here.
The roof of the mine collapsed and trapped 15 miners. Nine were rescued within 24 hours of the accident, but six remained trapped inside, the villagers said.
Of the six trapped miners, Malu was finally rescued on Saturday. The rescue team found him deep inside the mine.
He has been admitted to a local hospital in Dhanbad district.
Talking about his experience Malu said "I had lost hope to come out alive. Death was awaiting me and I was sceptical whether my family would get even my dead body".
"Now, I will prefer to beg instead of extracting coal," he said.
Malu is now is scared that police might arrest him for indulging in illegal mining.
Rescue operation is going on to bring out the remaining miners, authorities said.
According to estimates, more than 500 persons have lost their lives in the last ten years in the state while extracting coal from the abandoned mines. Illegal mining is rampant in Jharkhand as poverty stricken people take great risks to extract coal from these mines.