SHILLONG: “Even a finger will do, but give us something to bury,” Manik Ali, elder brother of Monirul, who is among the 15 miners trapped in the rat-hole coal mine at Ksan since December 13, said on Thursday.
“We want the body so that we can give a decent burial according to our religious rites,” said Pressmeky Dkhar, the youngest uncle of the two brothers, Dimonme and his elder brother Melambok, who are also trapped along with Monirul and the others.
Both Manik and Pressmeky were at Ksan on Thursday after being invited by the East Jaintia Hills district administration to come over and see the video footage of a body captured by the Indian Navy’s underwater remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) on Wednesday evening.
They are separated by miles — Manik is from Chirang district of Assam and Pressmeky is from Lumthari, almost next door to the site of the disaster — but their sentiments converge.
The district administration on Thursday said the body had been pulled up to 100 feet from the depth of 210 feet in the main shaft of the mine where the ROV had picked it up.
It said parts of the body had started to “disengage” and, according to experts, it would totally “disintegrate” if pulled out. “I could not make out whether it was my brother’s body,” Manik told The Shillong Times over phone adding the face was not clearly visible in the images. “The body appeared bloated,” he said.
He said the Supreme Court had already stated that the miners must be found dead or alive and that is what he wanted, too. Manik was accompanied by Aminuluddin, also from Chirang and whose brother, Koti Miyan, is also trapped.
Aminuluddin worked in the ill-fated mine, but had gone home for the panchayat elections when the accident happened.
Manik said he had no doubt that his brother had perished, but wanted his body, even a part of it, “even a finger will do” for burial. “We will recognise his body no matter how decomposed it may be… there will be some sign, a ring or the thread holding the tabeez (amulet),” he said.
A team of doctors visited the spot to advise rescuers on how to bring the decomposed body safely out of the main shaft. They suggested the rescuers not to further move the body or it will disintegrate, officials said.
Rescue operations began on December 14 and involve multiple agencies.
Meanwhile, de-watering in the nearby abandoned mines continued on Thursday with nearly 50 lakh litres of water pumped out, operations spokesperson R Susngi said. Coal India Ltd and Odisha Fire Service ran their pumps for nearby 20 hours even as the Chennai-based team from Planys Technologies operated their ROV besides carrying out sonar detection of the shaft and found more rat holes. (With inputs from agencies)
