INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Rescuers prepare a water pump at the site of the flooded coal mine
A
team of Indian navy divers has been deployed in a bid to rescue 15 workers trapped inside a flooded coal mine.The men had entered the
illegal pit, known as a "rat hole", in the north-eastern state of Meghalaya on 13 December, and were cut off when floodwater from a nearby
river poured in.Emergency workers equipped with high-power pumps have arrived at the scene.It is not yet clear whether the miners are still
alive.India's NDTV reports that divers have recovered nothing but three helmets so far.Officials hope the men may have found an air pocket
in the main mineshaft."Only God's grace and some miracle can help them to be alive," Kyrmen Shylla, Meghalaya's disaster management
minister, told Reuters on Wednesday.Earlier rescue efforts by India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response
Force (SDRF) were hampered by a lack of equipment
Initially, only two low-power pumps were on hand to drain the water.Image copyrightReutersImage caption
It is now more
than a fortnight since the workers became trapped
The 112m (370ft)-deep coal mine where the workers are trapped lies in the
remote East Jaintia Hills district
Rat-hole mining involves digging pits into the ground to create a narrow hole to find coal, and is dangerous for those involved
Workers, including children, descend into the mines using bamboo ladders and accidents are common.The practice was banned in 2014, but mine
owners have challenged the ruling in India's Supreme Court.Most of Meghalaya's illegal miners are migrant labourers who come from
neighbouring states to earn money.
