SHILLONG: Almost three months after tragedy struck an illegal rat-hole coal mine at Ksan in East Jaintia Hills district that trapped at least 15 miners and triggered one of the longest rescue operations, the state government is contemplating to tell the Supreme Court how difficult it has become to carry on.
The miners were trapped when water flooded the mine on December 13 last year.
Speaking to media persons here on Tuesday, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said that the rescue operations have reached a point where it has become very difficult to carry on.
“Even the Navy has been pulled out in view of the present situation in the country (since the airstrike in Pakistan by the Indian Air Force and retaliatory action by its counterpart in that country). We have been trying our best even after involving so many top agencies, but we have not been able to save the lives and retrieve the bodies and it has been a massive challenge,” the chief minister said.
So far while five bodies have been spotted, only two have been pulled out.
The chief minister said the call on whether to continue the rescue operations would be taken after discussing the matter with experts adding the government would appeal before the Supreme Court and let it know how difficult the situation has become. The apex court has been monitoring the rescue operations following a PIL filed in this regard.
The rescue operations, which began with the NDRF and SDRF being drafted in, eventually developed into a multi-agency exercise that included the Indian Navy and Army and corporate players like Coal India Limited besides experts from various related fields.
