Guwahati:
The physique of one other employee, who was trapped inside a coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district, was recovered from the quarry this morning.
Two our bodies have to this point been recovered with the primary one introduced out from the mine in Umrangsu on Wednesday. They had been amongst 9 employees who had been trapped contained in the mine on Monday after a sudden gush of water flooded the quarry.
The employee has been recognized as Ligen Magar, aged about 27, a resident of Dima Hasao.
“Rescue efforts in Umrangsu proceed with unwavering resolve. Our hearts exit to the grieving, as we maintain onto hope and power on this tough time,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated in a put up on X.
The identification of the recovered physique has been confirmed as Ligen Magar, aged roughly 27 years, a resident of 1 No. Umrangshu, Dima Hasao, Assam. https://t.co/jKQ2tuUIKU
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 11, 2025
An official stated Magar’s physique was discovered floating on collected water within the mine after the military and Nationwide Catastrophe Response Power (NDRF) divers went to convey out the employee.
Dewatering of the quarry, which is about 310 ft deep, continued with specialised machines introduced in by ONGC and Coal India.
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Mr Sarma had earlier claimed that the mine was deserted 12 years in the past and was beneath the Assam Mineral Improvement Company until three years in the past.
”It was not an unlawful mine however an deserted one. The employees had entered the mine that day for the primary time to extract coal,” he stated on Friday.
He stated the chief of the employees has been arrested and the police are conducting investigations into the case.
What’s Hampering Assam Mine Rescue
A number of groups from varied central and state organisations and all three arms of the Indian Armed Forces – the Military, Navy and Air Power – are concerned within the operation to rescue the labourers who’ve been trapped in a flooded mine in Assam.
The water that gushed into the three Kilo Coal Quarry in Umrangsu, rescuers stated, is now acidic and murky as a result of it has blended with coal. This has made visibility and manoeuvrability very tough even for the group from the Navy, which incorporates clearance divers skilled in deep-depth diving and restoration operations.
The divers from the rescue groups, they stated, needed to threat their lives to drag out the physique that they did on Wednesday.
The murky water, an official stated, is making it tough even to make use of remote-operated automobiles.
One other side that’s making finding the labourers tough is that the 310-foot deep most important shaft results in 4 small tunnels within the ‘rat-hole’ mine, every of which branches out, creating a big community. There is no such thing as a blueprint obtainable for the rescue groups to confer with.
Chatting with NDTV on Wednesday, a employee on the mine, Jalaluddin, had stated that the peak of among the tunnels is barely three ft.
“There is no such thing as a room to even stand, and we’ve got to bend and mine for coal. Even when sitting, the roof is simply 4-5 inches above our heads,” he stated.