3 dead, 6 trapped in flooded Assam coal mine; rescue efforts continue

At least three of the nine trapped workers in the remote coal mines of Assam's Dima Hasao district are said to be dead, according to a report by The Indian Express. Six others remain trapped following a sudden flood on Monday. Rescue operations, involving multiple agencies, continue in the hopes of retrieving the bodies and rescuing the workers.

 

The mishap occurred at a coal mine in the 3 Kilo area of Umrangso, a hilly region known for its extensive mining activities. The nine workers, aged between 26 and 57, became trapped when water inundated the mine, believed to be the result of damaging an underground water source during excavation.

 

Rescue efforts in flooded Assam mine

Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) arrived on site, with 30 NDRF personnel and eight SDRF members leading the effort. Specialist divers, engineers, medical teams, and support staff from the Army and Assam Rifles have also been deployed, as earlier reported by Business Standard. 

 

Kuldeep Sharma, Second in Command (Operations/Training) of the NDRF, explained that the miners were working in "rat holes", narrow tunnels often used in illegal mining, when they inadvertently breached a water source, causing the mine to flood.

 

Speaking to The Indian Express, Sharma said, "The primary challenges are the depth of the pit, which is around 300 feet, and the fact that it is flooded."

 

Rising water levels hamper rescue

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma provided an update, noting that the water level inside the mine has risen to nearly 100 feet. To assist in the rescue, Navy deep-sea divers have been requisitioned from Visakhapatnam and are expected to arrive soon.

 

In a post on X, the CM released the names of the trapped workers: Ganga Bahadur Shreth, Hussain Ali, Jakir Hussain, Sarpa Barman, Mustafa Seikh, Khushi Mohan Rai, Sanjit Sarkar, Lijan Magar, and Sarat Goyary.

 

The incident has drawn parallels to a similar disaster in 2018, when 15 miners lost their lives in a flooded rat-hole mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills.

 

Local authorities, emergency responders, and mining experts continue to work tirelessly to locate and rescue the trapped workers.