SHILLONG: The Indian Navy’s underwater remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) on Saturday strove to pull out the highly decomposed body it had detected on in the ill-fated rat-hole coal mine at Ksan in east Jaintia Hills district on Wednesday evening after families of some trapped miners insisted that it be retrieved intact “without much disintegration.”
The video image of the body showed that it was highly decomposed and flesh was already coming off – ‘ disengaging” in official parlance, Officials apprehended that the body – draped in blue jeans and a red T-shirt — would completely “disintegrate” if attempt was made to pull it out.
The body was detected in one of the tunnels that branch off from the main shaft of the mine. The ROV had managed to pull it about a hundred feet towards the tunnel’s mouth from where it was found.
“The deputy commissioner (F M Dopth) is talking to the next of kin and trying to convince them that it is very difficult to retrieve the body,” said Peter Ingty, Additional Chief Secretary, who is overseeing the rescue operation. He said it is because of the Supreme Court order that the operation has not been called off.
“It is only because of the Supreme Court order that we are hanging on. Submissions will be made before the court and let’s see what happens,” Ingty said.
On Friday, Dopth visited the families of three of the 15 trapped miners at Lumthari village near the tragedy site and expressed the authorities’ “inability” to evacuate them.
The apex court is hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking steps to rescue the 15 miners trapped in the mine since December 13.
The petitioner, Advoate Aditya Verma, told The Shillong Times that he was not going to give up.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices A.K. Sikri and S. Abdul Nazeer had expressed dissatisfaction with the rescue operation and ordered : “No matter whether they (trapped persons) are all dead, some alive, a few dead or all alive, they should have been taken out by now. We pray to God that they all are alive.” (With inputs from Agencies)
