Another body recovered from Assam’s rat-hole coal mine amid ongoing rescue efforts
The body was recovered by the team around 7.30 am, following a routine check of the water level, which has decreased by six metre due to overnight dewatering efforts using five pumps
Assam mine accident: In an ongoing rescue operation at a rat-hole coal mine in the 3 Kilo, Umrangso area of Dima Hasao district, Assam, rescue teams recovered another body on Saturday morning. The body, identified as Lt. Lijen Magar (27), a resident of Kalamati village in Dima Hasao, was found around 7.36 am, marking the second recovery since the mine’s collapse.
A team consisting of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Indian Army, and Assam Rifles continues to work on the rescue operation. According to Roushan Kumar Singh, Inspector of the 1st Battalion of NDRF, the body was discovered floating while teams were checking the water levels inside the mine. The body was recovered by the team around 7.30 am, following a routine check of the water level, which has decreased by six metre due to overnight dewatering efforts using five pumps. The ongoing rescue operation runs 24 hours a day.
On January 8, the first body, identified as Ganga Bahadur Shreth, was recovered from the flooded mine. A specialised 12-member rescue team from Coal India also arrived at the site on Friday to locate and rescue eight miners still trapped underground.
In response to the tragic incident, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced the registration of an FIR and the arrest of one person, Punish Nunisa, in connection with the mine collapse. The FIR, filed under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, indicates the mine was operating illegally.