NEW DELHI: The National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) on Saturday said another body was found early morning when they went to see the water level. The body was recovered amid ongoing efforts to rescue trapped workers at the bottom of the flooded rat-hole coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district.
Earlier, the relief team recovered the body of a Nepalese worker, who was among the labourers trapped inside a 3-kilo coal quarry at Umrangso after a sudden gush of water flooded the site on January 6.
“We went to see the water level in the morning, we spotted a body, it was rescued. Two bodies have been recovered since the operation started. Water level has receded by six metre since we came here,” NDRF team commander Roshan Kumar Singh told news agency PTI.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a post on X, said that the body was yet to be identified.
”Rescue efforts in Umrangsu continue with unwavering resolve. Tragically, another body was recovered this morning, with the identity yet to be confirmed,” the chief minister posted on the microblogging site.
”Our hearts go out to the grieving, as we hold on to hope and strength in this difficult time,” he added.
On Thursday night, the leader of the trapped workers was arrested, even as rescuers from Navy and Army made little headway on the operation’s fifth day.
Police said their ‘sardar’ (leader), Hanan Laskar, had fled the site soon after. Earlier on Tuesday, Punish Nunisa, the quarry’s lease-holder, was arrested.
Congress on Friday held a state-wide sit-in demonstration over the alleged illegal coal syndicate in the state. APCC president Bhupen Kumar Borah said the “failure of CM Himanta Biswa Sarma government has been exposed with the tragic deaths of innocent labourers trapped in the illegal coal syndicate in Umrangso.”
According to witnesses and preliminary reports, the unexpected flooding prevented workers from evacuating the mine. Emergency teams, including local authorities and mining experts, immediately initiated rescue operations.
A miner, whose brother is among those trapped, said, “Suddenly, people began shouting that water was filling the mine. Around 30-35 people managed to escape, but 15-16 individuals were trapped inside.”