The body of one miner who died following being trapped in a flooded coal mine in Assam ‘s Dima Hasao district was recovered in the early hours of Wednesday, following 48 hours of intense search operations. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X, “21 Para divers have just recovered a lifeless body from the bottom of the well. Our thoughts and prayers are with the grieving family”.
HPS Kandari, the commandant of NDRF’s 1st Battalion, said, “Many attempts were made yesterday, but we didn’t succeed. A joint team of divers went in today and recovered one body. Diving in such situations is a different ballgame. We need experts, as we cannot predict the conditions inside.” The miners became trapped on Monday morning in the Umrangso area of Dima Hasao district, located about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Guwahati.
On Tuesday evening, an Indian Navy team, including deep-sea divers, arrived at the site, where the water level inside the pit had reached 200 feet. Army soldiers and a national disaster management team were also on-site, using ropes and cranes to assist in the ongoing operation. Rescuers found three helmets, some slippers, and other items as the divers were able to descend to 35 or 40 feet of water inside the mine. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on the social media platform X that the mine appeared to be illegal, and police had arrested one person as they investigated the case.
Workers at the site claimed that over a dozen miners had been trapped inside the mine, which lacked proper safety measures. Some miners managed to escape as water from a nearby, unused mine began flooding the area. A similar incident occurred in 2019, when at least 15 miners were killed after becoming trapped in an illegal mine in Meghalaya state.
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