Disaster management teams haven’t been able to trace 15 mineworkers trapped inside a flooded coalmine in Ksan village of Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district despite rescue operations for the last 20 days.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) rescuers and firefighters from Odisha had on Tuesday begun to pump out water from the coal mine yet again, after a gap of nine days.
The miners have been trapped in the illegal ‘rat-hole’ mine since December 13, as water from the nearby Lytein river rushed in. A rescue operation involving various agencies was launched to find the miners, but even after 20 days, all that could be found were three helmets that supposedly belong to the miners. Poverty and a lack of jobs have pushed thousands of migrants to risk their lives as “rat-miners” in Meghalaya, an illegal job banned by the court in 2014 because of the pollution threat to water sources and risk to the miners.
Over the past few days, rains have often deterred rescue operations, as rescuers found it difficult to continue searching. More effective pumps to take out the water from the mine were in need as those being used initially were not enough, according to the Superintendent of Police of EJH district, Sylvester Nongtnger.
Operations were further hindered after high-powered pumps encountered technical snags on Tuesday. A team of expert Indian Navy divers were sent from Vishakapatnam equipped with specialised diving equipment and remotely operated vehicles capable of searching underwater.
The depth of the water in the mine has also delayed operations. While the initial assessment of the water depth was 70 feet, it was later found to be as much as around 120 feet, making pumping out water harder.
Currently, attempts are on to pump out more water. High-capacity pumps of Kirloskar Brothers Limited are also expected to reach the site shortly.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of ignoring the plight of miners.
