The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: The body of a miner was recovered Wednesday (January 8) from the coal mine at 3 Kilo, Umrangso, in Dima Hasao district of Assam where at least half a dozen workers are feared trapped inside a flooded coal mine.
Joint teams of the Indian Army, Navy, Assam Rifles, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) resumed operations to rescue this morning.
“21 para divers have just recovered a lifeless body from the bottom of the well. Our thoughts and prayers are with the grieving family,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X.
The body recovered from the well has been identified as Ganga Bahadur Srestho from Udayapur district, Nepal, he said.
It has already been 48 hours since the incident and the next 24 hours are crucial.
On January 6, about 30-35 workers working on the site got trapped when water started seeping in and filling up the coal mine. While many of them managed to escape, about nine were feared trapped, according to officials. It is unclear why the flooding happened, as per the preliminary police probe.
Speaking to The Hindu, Dima Hasao’s District Commissioner, Simanta K. Das said that the place is very remote and is accessible through a jungle. This delayed the rescue mission.
Also read: For Meghalaya Mine Workers, Even Death is No Escape From Debts
According to media reports citing authorities, the water level in the coal mine is said to have risen to nearly 100 feet.
State minister Kaushik Rai told news agency PTI that the teams have begun the dewatering process as well. An ONGC dewatering pump was loaded onto an MI-17 helicopter at Kumbhigram.
“It’s been 48 hours and the water inside the mine is a big challenge. Today is a crucial day,” Rai told the news agency.
Similar disasters in coal mines happen frequently in the northeastern belt of India, especially in the ‘rat-hole’ mines.
‘Rat-hole’ mining is a process of digging that involves making narrow pathways for the extraction of coal. This method of mining was banned by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2014 due to its dangers to the lives of the miners. However, its implementation still continues in the hilly areas.
In May 2024, at least three persons died inside a ‘rat-hole’ mine in Assam’s Tinsukia district after it caved in due to a landslide.
In January 2024, six persons were charred to death and four injured in a fire that broke out inside a ‘rat-hole’ coal mine in Nagaland’s Wokha district. In September 2022, three labourers died in an illegal coal mine in the same district due to suspected inhalation of toxic gas.
In December 2018, in one of the biggest disasters, at least 15 miners were buried while working in an illegal mine in Meghalaya after it was flooded by water from a nearby river.