Rescuers reach Meghalaya mine site; IAF, Coal India teams to reach on Friday

Shillong, December 27

Two teams of a private pump manufacturing company, which has volunteered to provide equipment to drain out water from the rat-hole coal mine in Meghalaya where 15 diggers have been trapped for nearly a fortnight, arrived at the site on Thursday.

Rescuers from the Indian Air Force and Coal India are expected to reach the mine in East Jaintia Hills district on Friday.

Superintendent of Police Sylvester Mongtynger said two teams from Kirloskar Brothers Ltd arrived Thursday to help in rescuing the miners trapped in the 370-foot-deep illegal mine.

“We are deeply concerned about the trapped miners in Meghalaya and are ready to help in whichever way possible. We are in touch with the officials of the Government of Meghalaya to offer our assistance in this regard,” Kirloskar Brothers Ltd said in a statement late Wednesday night.

Indian Air Force spokesperson Ratnakar Singh said the National Disaster Management Authority has requested the IAF to airlift rescuers from Bhubaneswar to either Guwahati or Shillong airport on Friday.

Sources in Coal India Ltd said officers and surveyors are on their way to the site.

A senior government official said they will assess the situation including the road condition leading to the mine in a remote area in the district and accordingly report to their office, which will then take a call on what equipment are required to launch a rescue operation.

The search-and-rescue operation was suspended on Saturday after water pumped out of the mine did not lead to a drop in the water level.

On Thursday, the National Disaster Response Force contradicted media reports which quoted it as saying that the trapped minors were suspected to be dead on the basis of the “foul odour” the force’s divers had smelt when they had gone inside the mine.

The NDRF battalion based in Guwahati, which is carrying out the rescue operation, said the statement of its Assistant Commandant Santosh Kumar Singh on “foul smell” had been “misinterpreted and he was misquoted as saying that foul odour could indicate that the miners were dead and the bodies are beginning to decompose.”

The NDRF explained the foul smell could be of the stagnant water.

“The fact is that the pumping process has been halted for more than 48 hours. The foul smell detected by the divers may be due to stagnant water. The same has been misinterpreted and newspapers quoted it saying the odour could indicate the miners are dead and bodies are beginning to decompose,” the statement issued by Commandant of Guwahati-based NDRF Battalion S K Shastri said.

He said two teams of NDRF are engaged in the search and rescue operation.

Meanwhile, sources said Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma discussed the incident with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi Thursday. The details of the meeting were not available. — PTI