INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
over 14 people trapped inside a flooded "rat-hole" mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills was disrupted due to heavy rain and strong winds
Five days have passed since the operation's launch, but nobody has been rescued yet.Divers have only succeeded in recovering three helmets
until now, sources said.The illegal coal mine at Ksan in the district's Saipung area had collapsed on December 12, following which it was
flooded by water from the adjacent Lytein river
Although the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) are jointly trying to rescue the miners, it is
feared that they may already be dead.The exact number of people in the mine is yet to be confirmed
Although state authorities confirmed the presence of another person, taking the official figure to 14, a well-placed source told
TheIndianSubcontinent that at least 18 are believed to be trapped underground
The Coal India Limited has deployed a team of experts to assist the main rescue team of 100 personnel, and the state government has urgently
sought additional help from the home ministry.Sources said water from multiple sources is still entering the mine, further complicating the
While the water had reached a height of 70 feet by Monday, NDRF divers armed with sonar devices and high-calibre lights could only descend
to a depth of 30 feet."Water gushing into the mine is proving to be a big hindrance
In the absence of a map, we don't even know how many channels are there inside
The space beyond the shaft of the mine is also very narrow, but we are trying our best to expedite the operation," NDRF commandant (1st
battalion) SK Shastri told TheIndianSubcontinent, terming "pumping out water" as their main concern.Three heavy-duty pumps are being used to
pump water out of the flooded mine, and the government is planning to requisition more for the purpose
Sources said that while NDRF divers have been able to reach the shaft, several arterial channels inside the mine are yet to be explored.
