I consider it hell on earth. Literally. The smell, the smoke, the heat, the conditions. No human should have to live here, work here, grow up here, exist here, yet thousands do.

For almost a century now Jharia coal mines have been burning in the state of Jharkhand, India. It’s one of the largest coal mines in Asia. As the fires spread at a rate of five to six meters a month, thousands of people live with the ground beneath them burning every day. Houses crack, crumble, and subside…so do people. Locals tell stories about villagers sleeping and the earth beneath them giving way, their bodies never to be found in the inferno. Just a few months ago a 15 year-old girl disappeared in the fires while taking her morning bathroom break. Her lifeless body was found hours later.

Villagers survive by picking illegal coal from the mines to sell at local markets for about a dollar a basket. They collect the coal, and burn it once in order to improve its quality, breathing in the poisonous smoke containing carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide and fine coal dust, among other things. No one wears protection.

This is a complex problem as a plan has been put through with hopes that the residence will move to a new re-homing area.

Locals are hesitant as the plan offer an small room for what is commonly a huge family. Most feel that they are asked to move because the price of the coal below them is worth more than their existence.

I worked on this project with Line Wolf Nielsen, a radio journalist and Bombay Flying Club teammate Poul Madsen. Together we are producing a multimedia package shot with the Canon 5d Mark II, which we are excited to launch sometime in the next couple months.

For more images, please see my archive