In Pictures: Indian coal mines still burning after a century

Laborers lift a large basket filled with coal. The fires started in 1916. More than a century later, coal pits in Jharia, in a remote corner of India's eastern Jharkhand state, continue to spew flames and clouds of poisonous fumes into the air.

An excavator is used at an open-cast mine. Coal is an important contributor to India's growth, supporting its iron and steel industries and generating more than half the country's power. In Jharia, the heart of India's coal industry, the livelihoods of half a million people depend on it. This, however, comes at a cost.

A laborer sports an anklet as she takes a break from loading coal. For the past century, inhabitants have braved sizzling temperatures, deadly sinkholes and toxic gases. The coal fires pose an even greater threat to the lives of those who work in the mines, which cover more than 260 square kilometers.

Laborers eat lunch at a coal loading site. Decades of underground coal mining have hollowed Jharia's land. The collapse of houses and other structures on the surface due to subsidence is increasingly common.

Flames rise out of the fissures on the ground above coal mines. Respiratory diseases like tuberculosis, bronchitis and asthma are common. Children have been born deformed, and some people have fallen into the raging fire pits and died.

A laborer keeps watch as coal is unloaded from a truck. In 2008, Bharat Coking Coal Ltd., a subsidiary of state-owned Coal India, began a program to relocate almost 53,400 families living in fire-affected areas by 2021. But by 2016, only 4,000 families were relocated.

A laborer smiles as he prepares to drink water during a break. Over the years, the number of people needing to be resettled has risen to at least 130,000 families.

A metal vessel filled with drinking water stands at a coal loading site. As the government deadline of 2021 approaches, the lives of people in the fire-affected areas are getting harder. With few jobs available, many young people work as coal loaders for less than $4 a day or risk their lives scavenging coal.

A vendor stands next to his food cart as smoke rises from a recently collapsed house due to land subsidence.

A motorist rides past a warning painted on a wall informing people about the burning coal mine zone and land subsidence.

Children of laborers who work in coal fields play a game of soccer.

Laborers fill baskets with coal before loading it into trucks for transportation.

A laborer smiles as she interacts with fellow laborers during a break from loading coal into trucks for transportation.

Laborers lift a large piece of coal before loading it onto a truck for transportation.

Girls carry vessels filled with drinking water.

Village houses are seen above the glowing embers of an underground coal fire.