Dhanbad (Jharkhand), Apr 1 (PTI) The bodies of three members of a family were recovered on Wednesday, a day after their house collapsed during a suspected land subsidence in Jharkhand’s Dhanbad district, a police officer said.

Two houses had caved in at Tandabadi Basti under Sonardih police station limits on Tuesday evening, the officer said.

While three people were inside one of the houses at the time of the incident, no one was present in the other, he added.

Baghmara sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Purushottam Singh said, “All three bodies were stuck under the debris. They were retrieved during a rescue operation and sent for postmortem examination.” The deceased have been identified as a 70-year-old man, a 35-year-old woman, and a 17-year-old girl, although their exact familial relationship is yet to be ascertained, officials said.

Baghmara MLA Shatrughan Mahto, who visited the site on Tuesday evening, claimed that at least four houses had collapsed in the land subsidence.

He alleged that illegal mining is rampant in the area, which could have contributed to the incident.

Dhanbad Senior Superintendent of Police Prabhat Kumar, however, said the land caved-in due to rain, and there was no illegal mining in the area.

Meanwhile, Dhanbad deputy development commissioner Sunny Raj held an online review meeting with officials over the situation in the affected site.

Raj directed officials to ensure adequate arrangements for all basic amenities, including food and water, for the affected families.

He further instructed officials to continuously monitor relief, security, and other essential arrangements at the site and submit a detailed report on the overall situation, according to an official release.

He also stated that compensation will be provided to the affected families by the state government.

A team from the district administration and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), which visited the site, was confronted by angry locals demanding action against those responsible for the incident. An official of the district administration, however, said the situation is under control. PTI SAN NN MNB