4 Bodies Of Workers From Assam Mine Recovered; Rescue For Five Trapped Workers Continue (X image @ProDefKolkata)
Bodies of three workers trapped inside a coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district were recovered today. Total four bodies were recovered so far. Search for the remaining five trapped workers are ongoing. Nine workers were trapped inside the mine on Monday after a sudden gush of water flooded the quarry.
The first body of worker was brought out from the mine in Umrangsu on Wednesday. One of the body recovered from the mine this morning was identified as 27-year-old Ligen Magar, a resident of Dima Hasao. The identification of two other bodies is underway, an official said, as reported by media,
The identity of the recovered body has been confirmed as Ligen Magar, aged approximately 27 years, a resident of 1 No. Umrangshu, Dima Hasao, Assam. https://t.co/jKQ2tuUIKU
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 11, 2025
Sarma had earlier 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,” he said on Friday.
The Chief Minister also said that the leader of the workers has been arrested and the police are conducting investigations into the case.
Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force, along with various other central and state organisation are involved in the rescue operation.
The water that gushed into the 3 Kilo Coal Quarry in Umrangsu is now acidic and murky because it has mixed with coal. This has made the rescue operation difficult even for the Navy, which includes clearance divers trained in deep-depth diving and recovery operations, said the rescuers, as quoted by media.
The divers from the rescue teams said they had to risk their lives to pull out the bodies. However, the murky water is making it difficult to use even the remote-operated vehicles, said media report.
Another aspect that is making locating the labourers difficult is that the 310-foot deep main shaft leads to four small tunnels in the ‘rat-hole’ mine, each of which branches out, creating a large network. There is no blueprint available for the rescue teams to refer to, said NDTV.
