At least 18 miners have died and one person is critically injured following an explosion at an illegally operated coal mine in India’s northeastern state of Meghalaya, police said. Rescue operations were ongoing after the blast, which occurred around 11:00 am local time on February 5 in the East Jaintia Hills district, with authorities warning that an unknown number of workers may still be trapped underground.
Police said the explosion was linked to rat-hole mining, a hazardous and banned practice that involves using dynamite to carve narrow tunnels through which miners crouch to extract coal.
Indeed, as the history books will tell you, the mining industry has taken thousands of lives over the years. When the Industrial Revolution took hold during the 19th century, the need for fossil fuels like coal grew exponentially, and the working class was sent deep underground to harvest the precious materials needed to power engines and machinery.
In addition to dealing with dreadful working conditions, back-breaking labor, and toxic fumes, miners risk their lives every time they go to work. From explosions to collapses, there have been countless disasters that took hundreds of lives in those claustrophobic tunnels.
Click through this gallery to learn about the most devastating mining accidents in human history, and the shocking death tolls they caused.