The incident first came to light on the morning of January 6, when fifteen labourers got trapped in the illegal coal mine after sudden flooding engulfed the site, leaving the workers with no time to escape
GUWAHATI: Search and rescue operations at the flooded coal mine in Umrangshu, Dima Hasao, were paused at 6:30 PM on Wednesday, January 8, and will resume at sunrise. The operation, jointly conducted by the Army, Navy, and the 1st National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), had begun earlier in the day at 6:45 AM.
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During the extensive rescue efforts, one body was recovered by the team. The Army initiated search and rescue operations on-site, while the Navy deployed sonar equipment to aid in locating the other trapped individuals. Deep diving operations were also carried out in coordination by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team.
To address the severe waterlogging in the mine, one heavy-duty motor pump was brought from ONGC Silchar to support dewatering efforts as well. Local pumps were also utilised, with water levels in the vicinity carefully monitored. Dewatering is an ongoing process and will continue throughout the night.
Additional efforts have been made to bring in a heavy suction pump to accelerate the process of removing water from the flooded quarry.
The incident first came to light on the morning of January 6, when fifteen labourers got trapped in the illegal coal mine after sudden flooding engulfed the site, leaving the workers with no time to escape.
As news of the incident spread, local authorities, emergency response teams, and volunteers immediately began coordinating rescue efforts to save the trapped miners.
