Navy divers spot skeletons inside Meghalaya mine through ROVs: Sources

As operation continues to trace the miners trapped in an illegal rat-hole coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills, the divers of Indian Navy on Thursday spotted skeletons inside the mine through their remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROVs), said sources.

According to sources to ANI, "The divers of Indian Navy are seeing skeletons inside mines of Meghalaya through their remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROVs)."

"Water inside mines has high sulphur content which can decompose bodies very fast. By evening, forensics experts would reach the spot and suggest the future course of action," sources added.

Earlier in a day, the divers of Indian Navy detected the body of one miner out of 15 who are trapped in an illegal rat-hole coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district for over a month now.

The body was detected by the divers using ROVs at a depth approximately between 60 feet and 210 feet inside a rat-hole mine. Total depth at which the body has been recovered is around 70 meters from the surface.

Speaking to ANI about the difficulty of the operation led by Navy to rescue miners, Navy spokesperson Capt D K Sharma stated: "Operation by the Navy started three weeks back. We are a team of 10 people. We have sent a team of divers with an officer and latest equipment. Last night, we recovered a dead body at a depth of around 150 feet from the surface. For now, divers are using hit and trial method. The search operation will be continued till the government asks us to step back."

"Difficulty of operation can be understood by the fact that divers have to use ROVs. As there are many uncharted small mines, it is difficult to understand where to head next," he added.

Odisha Fire Service is operating pumps in an effort to remove water from the mine. A team of doctors and other senior officials are present on the spot, monitoring the rescue operations.

KSB, a German company, is likely to install its pumps by Thursday evening to pump out the water. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is also coordinating with other agencies in carrying out the rescue operation in an effective manner.

15 miners have been trapped in the 370-feet deep illegal mine in Lumthari village since December 13 last year, when water from the nearby Lytein river flooded the mine. Since then, a multi-agency rescue operation has been attempting to evacuate the miners.