Rescuers were working to reach nine people trapped inside a coal mine in the Indian state of Assam, where three miners are feared dead. Officials said bodies have been seen but teams are still trying to reach them.
The miners have been trapped since Monday, but rescue teams could reach them only on Tuesday as it is located in a remote part of Umrangso area of Dima Hasao district in the northeastern state.
They became trapped approximately 300 feet below ground after being flooded with water from a nearby disused mine.
“The mine flooded yesterday – the source was internal. They (miners) probably hit a waterway and the water came out and flooded it,” a local official told Reuters.
The Indian Army as well as national and state disaster relief forces are trying to reach the stranded people.
Rescue workers are trying to reach the miners
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said various personnel from the Navy have been asked to assist in the operation. “As per the assessment of the deployed team, the water level inside the mine has risen to approximately 100 feet. Divers are flying in from Visakhapatnam and are expected to arrive soon,” he posted on Twitter.
A local official told news agency AFP that more than 100 rescue workers had been deployed.
Images released by the Indian Army show various scuba gear being lowered into a deep shaft
indian daily newspaper The Hindu Said that seven miners were from Assam, one from neighboring state West Bengal and one from Nepal.
The site of the incident is close to Assam’s neighboring state of Meghalaya, where 15 miners working in an illegal mine were buried due to floods in 2019.
So-called “rat hole” mines are commonly found in the eastern and northeastern regions of India. They are often illegal and prone to accidents and disasters due to poor safety conditions.
tg/kb (AFP, AP, Reuters)