GUWAHATI: Search and rescue teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Indian Army have recovered another body from the flooded coal mine in the 3 Kilo Umrangso area of Assam’s Dima Hasao district. This discovery on Wednesday, February 19, brings the total number of recovered bodies to five, while four individuals still remain trapped inside the mine.
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“One more body was recovered by the rescue teams today,” Assam’s Minister of Mines & Minerals, Kaushik Rai, reportedly confirmed the development. “We are conducting the identification process right now.”
Authorities continue to intensify search efforts to locate and rescue the remaining trapped miners, as rescue operations have been ongoing since the mine was flooded on January 6, when water suddenly gushed in, trapping nine workers.
Meanwhile, the Assam government has extended financial assistance to the affected families. On January 18, Rai handed over ex-gratia cheques to the families of both the deceased miners and those still trapped. The next of kin of the five recovered miners received ₹10 lakh each, while the families of the four trapped workers were given ₹6 lakh each, with the remaining ₹4 lakh to be provided later.
The state cabinet had also earlier decided that an ex-gratia of ₹10 lakh would be provided to the families of all nine miners. The compensation has been allocated from two sources; ₹6 lakh from the Assam Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and ₹4 lakh from the Assam State Disaster Management Authority.
