JOWAI/ SHILLONG: Search and rescue teams, which include the NDRF and SDRF, failed to trace any of the 13 miners trapped inside the deep coal mine at Ksan near Briwar under Nongkhlieh Elaka in East Jaintia Hills district on Saturday, the second day of their operation.
Water was being pumped out since the day after the incident which took place on Thursday morning, but the level of the water remained the same till Saturday afternoon.
NDRF deep divers had made two attempts on Friday to locate the trapped miners, but in vain.
The NDRF on Saturday used sonar system and underwater camera to detect the miners, but the system failed to locate any of the trapped miners because of poor visibility.
As the water level at the pit did not recede much despite continuous pumping, the NDRF officials suggested to the district administration to call in the Oil Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to deploy “submersible water pumps.”
“We have already made contact with the ONGC to deploy the submersible waters pumps as suggested by the NDRF,” F.M. Dopth, the District Magistrate, said.
“The water level went down by about seven inches, but rose again after the pumps were switched off for cooling down”, a source said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, police arrested the main accused, Jrin alias Krip Chullet, a resident of Narwan village.
Jrin is the coal mine owner, whereas James Sukhlain, another accused, is the land owner.
It is a practice in the coal business here in Jaintia Hills that one can buy part of the land beneath the ground for coal extraction whereas the topsoil will still belong to the land owner. So, James Sukhlain is the land owner while Chullet is the coal mine owner who appointed a ‘Sordar’ or a mine supervisor.
The land owner and the unidentified supervisor are still at large.
Rajabala MLA visit
Rajabala MLA Dr Azad Zaman will visit the mine site on Sunday to take stock of the situation.
It may be mentioned that several of the coal miners trapped inside the coal mine in East Jaintia Hills hail from West Garo Hills, Dr Zaman’s home district. (With inputs from Agencies)
