Guwahati: Divers recovered the bodies of five more miners trapped in a coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district on Wednesday, 44 days after the incident.
This brings the total number of bodies recovered to nine, as all the miners who were trapped in the quarry since January 6 have now been found.
The incident occurred at a coal mine in Umrangso 3 Kilo, Dima Hasao, Assam, when a sudden gush of water flooded the mine, trapping the workers inside.
Despite extensive efforts to locate them, the miners had been missing for more than a month.
In response to the tragedy, the Assam government shut down 13 illegal rat-hole mines in the Bittu Pahar area of Namdang colliery, Tinsukia district.
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The crackdown was led by Margherita Sub-Divisional Executive Magistrate Pritom Gogoi, Tinsukia Superintendent of Police Abhijit Gurav, along with representatives from North Eastern Coalfields and the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging an SIT probe into the coal mine tragedy in Dima Hasao.
The ongoing investigation into the tragedy has already led to the arrest of 11 individuals involved in the illegal rat-hole mining operations.
Authorities are working diligently to uncover further details surrounding the incident and bring those responsible to justice.
