Meghalaya: No trace of 13 trapped miners, says NDRF

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) on Tuesday informed that it had not been able to locate bodies of 13 miners who were trapped while working in an illegal coal mine in Ksan village of Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district.

Updating about the rescue efforts being made to trace the miners, Chief Officer (CO) NDRF, SK Sastri told ANI, "On 13 December, Meghalaya administration informed us that 13 labourers are trapped in a mine in East Jaintia Hills. two teams with equipment were sent immediately. The operation started on December 14. No body found till now."

Yesterday, the state police informed that the rescuers were failed to reach the 13 miners on the sixth day as heavy rains made the operation difficult.

The NDRF, police and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have been fighting against time to rescue the workers after the illegal coal mine, full of water, at Ksan in Saipung area of the district collapsed on Thursday and got flooded by the adjacent Lytein River.

According to police, only three helmets were found during the search operation even as miners remain trapped in the coal pit.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Monday said that rescue teams have been facing challenges to evacuate the trapped miners. He also highlighted that the high water level is making the operation difficult.

Despite a ban imposed by the National Green Tribunal in 2014, mining activities were underway at the site in Ksan village.

Earlier, while responding on the rising illegal mining activities in the state, the chief minister had said, "We got to know about the illegal mining incidents and appropriate action will be taken at appropriate time against people who are involved in it.