Defense Pro, GuwahatiRescue workers in India are racing against time to free miners trapped inside a flooded coal mine in the northeastern state of Assam.
Reuters reported that there were fears that three of the nine men who were inside had died, after the state government said that rescue teams had spotted some bodies that they were unable to reach.
The men were trapped on Monday morning after the Rat Mine, a narrow pit dug by hand to extract coal, was flooded with water.
Despite a ban on such mining in India since 2014, small-scale illegal mines still operate in Assam and other northeastern states.
Divers, helicopters and engineers have been deployed to help rescue the trapped men, and state and national disaster response forces are also assisting in the efforts.
On Monday evening, Assam Director General of Police JP Singh said authorities were ascertaining the exact number of people trapped.
Reports stated that more than a dozen miners managed to escape, and initial reports indicated that “the numbers will be in the single digits.”
Defense Pro, Guwahati
Defense Pro, GuwahatiThe mine is located in the mountainous region of Dima Hasaw.
Mayank Kumar Jha, a senior police official in the area, told Reuters that the area was very “remote” and “difficult to reach”.
Mine-related disasters are common in northeastern India.
In December 2018, at least 15 men were trapped in an illegal mine in the neighboring state of Meghalaya after it was flooded with water from a nearby river.
Five miners managed to escape, but efforts to rescue the others continued until the first week of March of the following year. Only two bodies were recovered.
In January 2024, six workers were killed after a fire broke out in a coal mine in Nagaland state.
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