SHILLONG/ NONGPOH, May 26: At least three coal miners, including two from Meghalaya, have reportedly died after being trapped inside an illegal rat-hole mine of Patkai Hills in Tinsukia district of Assam following a landslide, officials said on Sunday.
The deceased have been identified as John Nongrum of Jatah village and Phingel Umbah of Korhadem village in Ri-Bhoi district. The third victim was identified as Dawa Sherpa from Bhojpur in Nepal.
Director General of Police Idashisha Nongrang told The Shillong Times that they have received reports about two persons from Ri Bhoi dying in a rat-hole coal mine in Tinsukia.
She said the family members of the victims have gone to Tinsukia along with a Ri-Bhoi police team.
“We are yet get the full details about the incident,” the DGP added.
Ri-Bhoi Superintendent of Police, Jagpal Singh Dhanoa said that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has reached the accident spot but the bodies have not been recovered yet.
“We were contacted by the family members of the victims through Mawhati MLA Charles Marngar yesterday morning. Information was relayed to the police and the civil administration in Tinsukia,” Dhanoa added.
A senior official of the Tinsukia district administration said the incident occurred in the illegal Tikok West mining site between Bargolai and Namdang, located under the Tikok colliery in Ledo.
Four miners were engaged in the work of procuring illegal coal from the rat-hole mine, the official said.
Three of them went inside the mine and the fourth one was assisting in coal transportation. Suddenly, a landslide occurred, which trapped the three workers inside the mine.
“It has been suspected that they died inside the coal mine but we cannot confirm it until we get their bodies,” the official said.
The administration is carrying out a rescue operation at the moment and several agencies are being called in for assistance, he added. (With inputs from PTI)
