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GUWAHATI
Deep divers from the Navy connected Tuesday (January 7, 2025) joined the operations to rescue 9 miners trapped successful a water-filled ember excavation successful Assam’s Dima Hasao, a elevation district.
One person, Punish Nunisa, was arrested successful transportation with the incident.
Also read: Assam ember excavation mishap LIVE updates
The miners were trapped astir 8 a.m. connected Monday (January 6, 2025) and the territory authorities received accusation astir the mishap astir 2 p.m. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the excavation could beryllium illegal.
The Navy squad flew from Visakhapatnam aft the Army, Assam Rifles, National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, and constabulary unit made a recce of the excavation successful a jungle astatine 3 Kilo, astir 30 km from the nearest constabulary presumption successful Umrangso, successful the morning.
“The Navy squad is present spearheading the rescue efforts,” the Chief Minister posted connected X.
Assam’s Special Director General of Police, Harmeet Singh, told journalists astatine the tract that the Navy squad came on with heavy diving equipment. “There are tunnels wrong the excavation and much instrumentality volition beryllium required to spell there,” helium said.
Officials said the h2o level successful the mine, astir 20 ft successful radius and 300 ft successful depth, roseate to much than 100 ft erstwhile the rescue operations started successful the morning.
Earlier successful the day, a connection issued by the territory medication said, “Three bodies are seen from the crushed person not yet recovered (sic).” An day update read, “The bodies are yet to beryllium recovered. Dewatering has been stopped for the clip being.”
In 1 of his posts updating the operations, the Chief Minister said the mine, prima facie, appeared to beryllium amerciable and the Umrangso constabulary had been asked to analyse the incident.
“Punish Nunisa was arrested successful transportation with a lawsuit registered by the constabulary nether Sections 3(5)/105 BNS, work with Section 21(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957,” helium said.
The Chief Minister released the names of the trapped miners connected Monday (January 6, 2025) night. They are: Ganga Bahadur Shreth (38) from Nepal, Sanjit Sarkar (35) from West Bengal, Hussain Ali (30), Jakir Hussain (38), Sarpa Barman (46), Mustafa Seikh (44), Khusi Mohan Rai (57), Lijan Magar (26) and Sarat Goyary (37), each from Assam.
Coal excavation mishaps are rather predominant successful the northeast.
In January 2024, a occurrence successful a ember excavation successful Nagaland’s Wokha territory near six workers dormant and 4 others injured. In May of the aforesaid year, a excavation successful Assam’s Tinsukia territory caved in, sidesplitting 3 miners.
In September 2022, 3 ember miners were killed successful the Tinsukia territory by inhaling suspected toxic gas.
The biggest ember excavation catastrophe successful astir a decennary was the decease of 15 miners successful a flooded rat-hole ember excavation successful Meghalaya’s Ksan country connected December 13, 2018.
