Police confirmed 10 deaths on Saturday but local media reports say the death toll has risen to 14 after four more bodies were extricated from the rubble on Sunday, according to The Hindu.
Five people rescued from the heap with injuries are undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
The accident occurred at a Mahanadi Coalfields open cast coal mine in Odisha when local villagers illegally collecting coal shells from the overburden were hit by a falling wall of waste.
Police believe heavy rain caused the collapse.
A Mahanadi Coalfields spokesman told The Hindu that many residents often visited the mine to scour coal in the dump yard although entry to the area, located outside the mining zone, was illegal and there were warning notice boards installed.
As demand for coal has increased in India and production has failed to catch up, an underbelly of illegal coal mining run by what the local media refer to as the “coal mafia” has sprung up to capitalize on rising prices.
