Assam Coal Mine Tragedy; 3 more bodies recovered raising death toll to four
A joint rescue operation by the Army, Navy, and NDRF continued as five miners remain trapped...........
Assam Coal Mine Tragedy- The bodies of three more miners were recovered from the rat-hole coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district on Saturday, raising the death toll to four.
A joint rescue operation by the Army, Navy, and NDRF continued as five miners remain trapped inside the 3-Kilo Coal Quarry in the Umrangso area, about 250 km from Guwahati, after a sudden flooding on January 6.
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One of deceased has been identified as Lijen Magar, 27, from Kalamati village in Umrangso, Dima Hasao. Earlier, the body of another miner, a Nepalese national, was recovered from the mine on Monday.
Magar’s body was found floating on accumulated water in the mine after the army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) divers went to bring out the worker, an official said.
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“Rescue efforts in Umrangsu continue with unwavering resolve. Tragically, another body was recovered this morning…Our hearts go out to the grieving, as we hold on to hope and strength in this difficult time,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X.
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The chief minister had claimed that the mine was abandoned 12 years ago and was under the Assam Mineral Development Corporation till three years ago. ”It was not an illegal mine but an abandoned one.
The workers had entered the mine that day for the first time to extract coal,” Sarma said on Friday night. He said that the leader of the workers has been arrested and the police are conducting investigations into the case.
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Speaking on the ongoing rescue operations, Sarma said that dewatering has been continuing since Thursday and so far, 7 metres of water have been cleared.
”There was water up to 26 metres across four wells. If water is cleared from the wells, we can expect some results”, he said.
Another machine has been brought in from Nagpur and would be operated from Saturday morning, Sarma said, adding that if it functions according to plans, it is expected that the water would be cleared by evening.
On the alleged involvement of a family member of Dima Hasao Autonomous Council’s Chief Executive Member (CEM) Debolal Gorlosa in the incident, the chief minister said, ”This is a human tragedy and we should not politicise it.” (Agencies).
