Assam Mining Accident Update: Three more bodies recovered from Umrangso rat-hole coal mine; five miners still missing
- Assam Mining Accident Update: The four deceased labourers were among the nine workers trapped inside the coal mine in Umrangsu on Monday after a sudden gush of water flooded the quarry.
Assam Mining Accident Update: The death toll in the tragic Umrangso coal mine accident rose to four on Saturday, after rescue teams recovered three more bodies from a rat-hole coal mine at 3 Kilo. A joint rescue team comprising the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been working to rescue the miners trapped in the collapsed coal mine in Assam. Five more remain missing.
On Saturday morning, the second deceased miner, whose body was recovered at 7:36 am, was identified as Lt Lijen Magar, 27, a resident of Kalamati village in the district.
Lijen Magar's body was found floating on accumulated water in the collapsed coal mine after the Indian Army and NDRF divers went to bring out the worker, an official told PTI.
Two more bodies were recovered hours later on Saturday from the rat-hole coal mine at 3 Kilo in the Umrangso area. This is the third and fourth body recovered by the rescue teams, respectively.
On January 8, the rescue teams recovered the first body, identified as Ganga Bahadur Shreth, from the inundated rat-hole coal mine.
The four deceased labourers are among the nine workers trapped inside the coal mine in Umrangsu on Monday after a sudden gush of water flooded the quarry.
Coal India to deploy pump to aid rescue
Coal India will deploy a pump to aid in the rescue efforts for the trapped miners in the 3 Kilo Umrangso area in Dima Hasao district.
General Manager of Coal India, Kolkata, Sanjay Kumar told ANI, “We got a new pump from Nagpur. Yesterday we tested the pump. The electrical power generator is ready. In the meantime, small pumps have also started. Water is also decreasing.”
"Today we will try to make a platform and then we will lower the pipe. The preparatory job is ready, we are preparing the platform as soon as the platform is ready, we will load the pipes and try to start the pump. A special rescue team is also on standby," he added.
Dewatering of the collapsed cold mine, which is 340 feet deep, was continuing with specialised machines brought in by ONGC and Coal India.
Rat-hole coal mine tragedies in India
What is rat-hole mining? Rat-hole mining is a process of digging where a narrow hole is manually dug by extraction workers. Rat-hole mining is a manual extraction method involving narrow tunnels, just 3 to 4 feet deep, making it difficult for workers to crawl in and out.
In India’s eastern and northeastern states, workers often extract coal in hazardous conditions in small rat-hole mines in hilly areas. Following extraction, the coal is placed in boxes and hoisted to the surface with pulleys. Accidents in these illegal mining operations are frequent.
In one of the biggest disasters, in 2019, at least 15 miners were buried while working in an illegal mine in Meghalaya after it was flooded by water from a nearby river.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaAssam Mining Accident Update: Three more bodies recovered from Umrangso rat-hole coal mine; five miners still missing
First Published:11 Jan 2025, 04:52 PM IST
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