GUWAHATI, 7 Jan: Army personnel have been engaged to rescue the nine labourers trapped inside a coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district.
Rescue operations have been continuing since Monday but no worker has been brought out of the quarry so far, a district official said.
Since Monday, nine labourers have been trapped inside the mine at the Assam Coal Quarry, situated in the 3 Kilo area of Umrangso, after a sudden gush of water flooded the site.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma listed the names of the trapped labourers – Ganga Bahadur Shreth, Hussain Ali, Jakir Hussain, Sarpa Barman, Mustafa Seikh, Khushi Mohan Rai, Sanjit Sarkar, Lijan Magar, and Sarat Goyary.
A relief task force with specialists such as divers and sappers, equipped with essential tools, reached the site in Umrangso to rescue the miners, a defence spokesperson said.
“Engineers task force with equipment, divers and medical teams from the Indian Army and the Assam Rifles have joined the rescue efforts,” he said.
All efforts are underway in close coordination with the civil administration to rescue the trapped people, another official said.
NDRF and SDRF personnel are also at the site to rescue the miners trapped inside the coal mine.
Two water pumping machines were also put into use to flush out the water, an official said.
According to employees of the quarry, there were around 15 workers inside the mine, though the authorities did not confirm the number.
“Distressing news from Umrangshu, where labourers are trapped in a coal mine. The exact number and status are yet unknown. The DC, SP and my colleague Kaushik Rai are rushing to the site. Praying to god for everyone’s safety,” Sarma had in a post on X.
Rescue operations were launched immediately with teams consisting of local authorities, emergency responders and mining experts working to locate and free the trapped workers, the officials said.
Navy divers have been requisitioned to assist local authorities in rescuing the trapped labourers as the water level inside the quarry has risen to nearly 100 feet, Sarma said.
The divers are flying in from Visakhapatnam and are expected to arrive soon, he said.
Eyewitness accounts and initial assessments suggest that the flooding occurred unexpectedly, leaving the workers unable to escape from the mine. (PTI)
