Six coal miners died and four others sustained burn injuries on Thursday after a fire broke out in a coal mine in Ruchan village of Nagaland’s Wokha district.

“It seems a fire broke out as a result of some leakage in the generator and after the blast occurred,” Wokha Additional Superintendent of Police K Soriso told Scroll. “Six died on the spot and four of them sustained minor sustained burn injuries. Those who got injured in the tragic mishap have been rushed to Olive hospital in Dimapur for further medical treatments.”

The incident occurred around 2.30 pm on Thursday.

Out of the six miners who died, five were from the Gorakha community and one was a Muslim. All hailed from Assam’s Golaghat district.

They were working as rathole miners. The rathole technique involves digging small vertical pits to reach the mineral, often making it dangerous for miners.

The police had earlier suspected that a landslide at the colliery had caused the deaths.