Shillong, June 8: The rescue operation at Krem Ule in Umpleng, East Jaintia Hills suffered a severe setback on Tuesday after the water level in the abandoned mine was found to have risen by around 40 feet following heavy rainfall on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.
A senior official present at the site informed that the rescue teams of NDRF, SDRF and SRT verified the level of water and found that it has risen by 40 feet. “This is attributed to continuous heavy rainfall throughout the night,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the dewatering process commenced in the abandoned shaft at 12.00 noon and pumping continued till late in the day.
A senior official further informed that the Kirloskar water pumps have arrived at site and the process of installation of the platform to hold the pumps has begun.
The Secretary and Director of Mining and Geology Department also visited the incident site on Tuesday and held discussions with the district administration, NDRF and police on the rescue efforts.
