Dima Hasao: The Indian Army has mobilized a relief task force to rescue the miners trapped in Umrangso, a remote industrial town in Assam’s Dima Hasao district after the Army has been requisitioned for assistance.
As many as ten workers are trapped inside a ‘rat hole’ coal mine after water gushed into the 300-foot-deep quarry.
As per reports, water has filled approximately 100 feet of the mine, significantly hindering rescue efforts.
The relief task force comprising specialist divers, engineers, medical personnel, support staff from the Army and Assam Rifles, and equipped with specialized equipment, has joined the rescue efforts
Early in the morning, relief columns of the Indian Army reached Umrangso to assist the civil administration in the rescue of the trapped miners.
Initial reports indicate that over 27 mine workers entered the mine on Monday morning. However, only 17 workers were able to escape safely while over 10 remain trapped in the 300-foot-deep mine, which is now filled with 100 feet of water.
The mine is believed to have been operating without proper safety measures.
Dima Hasao Deputy Commissioner Simanta Kumar Das, who also serves as the chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority, said that the mine’s group leader, who typically maintains a list of miners, has fled the scene, hindering initial efforts to ascertain the exact number of trapped individuals.
The flooding reportedly began around 7 am when water overflowed into the mine, leaving those inside stranded.
According to sources, the special relief task force of the Army was mobilized to rescue the miners on a request by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
Coal mining in the Northeast has seen a string of tragic accidents in recent years. In January 2024, a fire in a Nagaland mine claimed six lives and injured four.
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Just months later, in May, a mine collapsed in Assam’s Tinsukia district resulting in the deaths of three miners.
In a similar incident in December 2018, 15 workers were trapped in an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills after water from a nearby river gushed into it.
