Khotang. Three youths were killed and one is still missing in an explosion at a coal mine in Meghalaya, police said on Sunday. Two others were seriously injured in the incident.

The deceased have been identified as Purniram Khapangi Magar, 27, Surendra Khapangi Magar, 24, and Nar Bahadur Khapangi Magar, 35, of Barapokhari-1.

The deceased has been identified as Ratna Rai, 50, of Jorkafal in Durchim of Halesi Tuwachung Municipality-5. It is learnt that Rai, who went missing after the explosion, might have died in the fire inside the coal mine.

According to Netra Bikram Raut, a youth leader of Durchim, the explosion occurred when Ratna entered the coal mine. Relatives of the deceased have informed the family members that the bodies found in the coal mine were found in an untraceable condition due to the fire.

The missing gem’s citizenship, diary and mobile phone were recovered in the room. According to relatives, the missing gems had gone to Meghalaya on September 22 in course of employment in the coal mine. Nar Bahadur, who was critically injured in the explosion, died while undergoing treatment on January 23, said a local Shiva Kumar Shrestha.

Purniram and Surendra, who died on the same day of the incident, were brothers of the same family, said Indra Limel Magar, a local. The injured have been identified as Karna Bahadur Khapangi Magar, 46, of Barapokhari rural municipality-1, Bam Bahadur Khapangi Magar, 40, of Bhanjyang and Lalit Lungeli Magar, 40, of Saune, Udayapur.

They are being treated at a local health facility in Meghalaya, said Tarabal Magar of Balampa, who has been working with them.

According to the relatives of the deceased, Tarabal informed about the incident over the phone after the blast. The family members of a Khotange youth who was killed in the blast are facing difficulties in bringing back the body of a youth from Meghalaya to Nepal.

Prakash Khapangi Magar, a relative of the deceased, said that it took him three days to reach Meghalaya of India after receiving information about the death of his relatives in the explosion. A campaign has been launched to collect funds to bring the dead bodies back home and treat the critically injured ones, said a local Prakash Banjara.