GUWAHATI, Jan. 9: The multi-agency search and rescue operations continued on the fourth day at the flooded coal mine in Dima Hasao district’s Umrangso even as at least eight miners remained trapped inside the mine till reports last came in on Thursday evening.
Official sources said four deep divers from the Indian Navy had initiated the search and rescue operation at the waterlogged coal quarry on Thursday morning.
However, the navy divers returned to the surface of the mine by early afternoon without tracing any miner after hours of rigorous searching in the vertical area of the flooded mine.
However, attempts are being made to dewater the mine by using high-power pumping machines to drain out the water, which however has not shown signs of receding, thereby hindering progress of the search operations.
“Drone mapping of adjacent water bodies and quarries are underway. High suction pumps are brought by helicopter to augment pumping,” an official informed on Thursday afternoon.
Notably, the body of one of the nine miners trapped inside the coal mine was retrieved by divers from the Indian Army’s 21 Para Special Forces and NDRF on Wednesday morning.
The recovery of the miner came almost 48 hours after at least nine labourers engaged in Assam Coal Quarry were left stranded deep inside the mine after water from unascertained sources flooded the well on Monday morning.
Reportedly, the divers had recovered the body about 85 feet inside the mine after starting their recovery operations around 6.45 am on Wednesday amidst visibility issues inside the tunnel with the murky water making sighting difficult.
It may be mentioned that teams from the Indian Army, NDRF and Indian Navy are engaged in the recovery mission amidst intensive dewatering of the flooded mine.
Officials maintained that dewatering of the well would continue to be intensive on Friday and attempts would be made to pump out water faster (with the help of high-suction pumps) than the flow of the water entering the well.