By Tora Agarwala, for Reuters
Nine men have been trapped in a flooded mine in India's Assam state. (File photo). Photo: AFP/ Money Sharma
Rescue teams have worked through the night trying to reach at total of nine men trapped in a flooded coal mine in a remote part of India's Assam state, though three of the miners are feared dead, authorities say.
Rescuers at the mine spotted what they believe to be three bodies, but have not yet been able to recover them, the local government said in a statement on Tuesday.
Army teams had deployed divers, helicopters and engineers to help rescue the nine men, who have been trapped since Monday in the mine in the hilly Dima Hasao district, the army said in a statement.
Rescue operations are underway at 3 Kilo, Umrangshu, with NDRF, SDRF, Indian Army, and Assam Rifles working tirelessly. Interacted with the families, offering support and reassurance. Under HCM Dr. @himantabiswa ji’s guidance, every effort is being made for a swift rescue. pic.twitter.com/0AIeypyd3w
— Kaushik Rai (@iKaushikRai) January 7, 2025
"The mine got flooded yesterday - the source was internal. They (the miners) probably hit some water channel and water came out and flooded it," Mayank Kumar, district police chief in Dima Hasao, told Reuters.
Kumar said rescue teams from the army, and national and state disaster relief forces were working to reach the trapped miners.
Photographs shared by the army on social media showed rescue workers with ropes, cranes and other equipment standing at the edge of a large, vertical mine.
Coal mine-related disasters in the remote northeastern part of India are not uncommon. In one of the biggest disasters, in 2019, at least 15 miners were buried while working in an illegal mine in the neighbouring state of Meghalaya after it was flooded by water from a nearby river.
- Reuters
