Assam | Authorities step up effort to rescue 8 labourers from coal mine

With Coal India installing a 500 GPM (gallons per minute) pump to dewater the mine, the authorities have stepped up efforts to rescue eight people from a coal mine in Assam where they’re trapped since January 6.

As per media reports, the rescue operation is getting delayed because the water flooding the 3 Kilo Quarry in the Dima Hasao district's Umrangso has turned acidic and murky due to mixing with coal, hampering visibility and making manoeuvrability difficult for the Navy divers.

Also read: Assam coal mine tragedy: Rescue operation enters 4th day, no sign of trapped miners

The body of one of the nine missing workers was recovered by Army divers on Wednesday. They located the body, identified as Ganga Bahadur Srestho from Udaypur district of Nepal, 85 feet below the surface.

No clarity on situation

K Mere, General Manager, Northeastern Coal Field, told news agency ANI, “We have brought a pump of 500 GMP from Nagpur and it is under installation. We have also brought two generators to allow this heavy pump to work.”

“The installation will continue for 24 hours in three shifts. In one minute, it can pump out 500 gallons of water. However, we don't know the exact situation underground,” he added.

Inspector Roshan Kumar, commanding a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at the site, told ANI on Thursday that despite a multi-agency effort, there was no reduction in the water level inside the mine.

Singh noted, “We have searched the vertical area but haven't been able to find anything. We are proceeding with taking out the water…Instead of decreasing, the water level has only increased.”

The joint operation is being carried out by the Indian Army, Navy and NDRF. Also, diving experts have been called upon for specialised support.

Rat-hole mining

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned rat-hole mining in 2014. However, coal is still extracted by this dangerous method in the Northeast.

Also read: Assam mining incident: 1 dead, confirms CM; rescue ops in full swing

“The shaft itself is 310 feet deep. Multiple channels were carved out through rat-hole technique from the shaft. We assume that a wall of one of the channels was breached and the entire shaft was flooded,” an expert monitoring the rescue operation told PTI.

“There is also a possibility that one of the channels reached an unused nearby mine that was already flooded. Another possibility is one channel might have reached an underground reservoir and water gushed in suddenly. All these are probable theories, which we cannot confirm at this moment,” he added.