Specialized teams from the Army, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have launched a joint operation to rescue the workers.
In a grim development from Assam’s Dima Hasao district, nine workers are trapped inside a ‘rat hole’ coal mine after water gushed into the 300-foot-deep quarry. The illegal mine is situated in Umrangso, a remote industrial town near the Meghalaya border, and the extent of the tragedy remains uncertain.
Sources said water had filled about 100 feet of the mine, severely hampering rescue efforts.
Special teams of the Indian Army, state-owned Disaster Response Force, and National Disaster Response Force launched a joint operation to rescue the workers following the incident.
Sources indicate that the Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, requested the mobilization of the special relief task force of the Army to help rescue the miners. The team comprises divers, engineers, and other Army-trained personnel.
“The team has been adequately equipped for the sensitive and time-critical task in a coordinated manner under the supervision of a senior and an experienced officer,” the Indian Army quoted its sources as saying. “The authorities concerned are in constant touch with civil administration to get regular updates for the speedy rescue of trapped miners.”.
In a similar incident in December 2018, 15 workers were trapped in an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills after water from a nearby river gushed into it.
