SHILLONG, June 18: The rescue operations at Krem Ule, Umpleng in East Jaintia Hills was called off on Friday after one of the Navy divers got injured due to falling of the debris inside the coal mines.
Official sources informed that the navy diver was shifted to Khliehriat Civil Hospital for treatment. His condition is stable since injuries are not too serious.
Official sources further informed that the Navy team will resume their operations on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner, Ethelbert Kharmalki informed that the Navy Divers could not dive on Friday due to the repairs and replacement of parts of the crane. “As soon as the crane is ready the divers will resume the operation,” Kharmalki said. He also informed that no one has come forward to identify the recovered dead body till filing of the report.
The 12-member of the Indian Navy diving team, that has been pressed into action since 12th June to rescue five miners trapped, has recovered body of one miner. Diving effort to search for the remaining four miners is still on.
Currently, over 50 personnel from National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, District Disaster Response Force, Fire and Emergency Service and the police have been deployed at the site, and the Naval divers trained to dive to such depths are carrying out the critical task of searching and retrieving the trapped miners.
Even with incessant rains, low visibility and numerous obstacles, the Indian Navy divers assiduously continue with the search operation which has entered the sixth day, with the hope that any light at the end of the tunnel will bring lasting solace and closure to the families.
While the divers have specialised equipment such as the Diver Hand Held Navigation System (DHNS) for bottom-mapping of the mine-shaft, any technology can do little to ameliorate the raw, gut-wrenching adversity that such an operation entails.
It may be recalled that the Indian Navy had assisted in the rescue and recovery effort of 15 miners trapped in a mine in Ksan, Meghalaya under similar conditions, in December 2018.
