Indian Navy on Thursday detected the body of one miner out of 15 who have been trapped in an illegal rat-hole coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district for over a month now.
The Indian Navy used Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (UROV) at a depth approximately between 160 feet and 210 feet inside a rat-hole mine.
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According to the Indian Navy, the body has been pulled upto the mouth of rat-hole mine and shall be extracted out of the mine under the supervision of doctors.
Search operations to locate the rest of the miners are still underway. Odisha Fire Service is operating pumps in an effort to remove water from the mine. A team of doctors and other senior officials are present on the spot, monitoring the rescue operations.
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KSB, a German company, is likely to install its pumps by Thursday evening to pump out the water. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is also coordinating with other agencies in carrying out the rescue operation in an effective manner.
15 miners have been trapped in the 370-feet deep illegal mine in Lumthari village since 13th December 2018, when water from the nearby Lytein river flooded the mine. Since then, a multi-agency rescue operation has been attempting to evacuate the miners.
(With ANI inputs)