Indian miners trapped by collapse

More than 100 miners are feared trapped in an abandoned coal mine which has collapsed in the Indian state of West Bengal.

The miners were said to be illegally extracting coal at the Ranibandh mine near the city of Asansol.

We have neither the machines nor the expertise to clear the rubble

Local official

"Local people from the are are saying the number of people in the mine could be up to 150, " police official Soma Das told Reuters news agency.

But police say they cannot check that figure and that, for now, the mine is too dangerous for them to enter.

They say some parts of the Ranibandh mine, which is in a major coal-producing region in West Bengal, collapsed late on Wednesday.

District officials say they have so far resuced 18 miners.

However, the rescue operation is being hampered by a lack of suitable equipment.

"We have neither the machines nor the expertise to clear the rubble from the illegal mine that caved in," a local official said.

Illegal operation

The mine had been abandoned several years ago by a state-owned coal company.

But local residents say an alleged criminal was illegally running the mine.

They allege that hundreds of miners were sent into the Ranibandh mine every night.

The BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta says subsidence is a major problem in West Bengal's coal-producing region of Asansol.

Mines abandoned by state-owned coal companies are apparently not effectively sealed and reports say that illegal mining continues unchecked, allegedly with the connivance of local officials.

Hundreds of miners who were laid off when the mines were shut down continue to work there risking their personal safety.

Mine flood

Last February more than 14 miners died when a government-run mine flooded in the eastern state of Jharkhand.

Three officials of the government-run coal company were suspended soon afterwards for allegedly overlooking safety measures.

Coal workers in the area say the accident occured due to pressures imposed by authorities who had set March as a deadline for the completion of mine work in the pit.