Rescuers lose track of body in Meghalaya’s flooded rat-hole mine
The body slipped from the grip of the Navy’s remote operated vehicle (ROV) when it was being pulled into the main shaft of the mine.
Rescuers are struggling to relocate the body of a miner in a rat-hole coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills District after it slipped from the grip of the Navy’s remote operated vehicle (ROV) on Tuesday.
The body disengaged from the ROV after it was pulled from the rat hole to the main shaft of the mine, said an official involved in the rescue operation.
“The body is somewhere in the main shaft now. Since around 4:30 pm when the body was pulled out, till about 10 pm it could not be located again,” said this official.
He said the body slipped from the jaw of the Navy’s ROV which has been under water since January 16.
“There is lot of debris in the main shaft. And the water is extremely turbid which has made visibility difficult,” the official said.
The main shaft has around 170 feet of water which has not receded despite attempts to pump it out.
“Since it is now in the main shaft we should be able to locate it again,” the official said.
On Tuesday evening, the spokesperson of the East Jaintia Hills district administration said, “The Indian Navy divers in collaboration with NDRF started the process to retrieve the remains by the ROV from 11 am today and till filing this report the remains have been pulled near the main shaft.” He also said that due to some obstruction the process will take some more time.
The body which was spotted by the ROV in one of the shafts on January 16, was in a highly decomposed state and authorities had sought the help of family members of the missing miners to identify the victim. Parts of the body started disintegrating as the ROV tried to pull it out, officials had said earlier.
At least 15 miners were trapped in the rat-hole mine in Khloo Ryngksan of East Jaintia Hills district, when it was flooded on December 13. A miner Sayeb Ali, who was inside the mine at the time of accident and managed to escape said there are two more workers inside the mine but police are still investigating the claim.
Aminul Uddin who also worked in the same mine till December 7 said his brother Kuti Miya was also among those trapped. He said had submitted documents to the administration for interim compensation but hasn’t received anything yet.
The Meghalaya government informed the Supreme Court on Monday that the operations at the rat-hole coal mine to look for survivors will continue. It also indicated that the workers trapped in the mine for more than a month may have died.
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