In a desperate race against time, rescuers have been deployed to the disaster site in the Dima Hasao district, where water inundated the narrow, manually-dug coal mine. Amid reports of three miners presumed dead, officials from both state and national disaster response teams are coordinating efforts, utilizing divers, helicopters, and engineers to navigate the challenging and remote terrain.
The incident occurred early Monday morning when rising water levels from a nearby source flooded the mine. In the aftermath, Assam's Director General of Police, GP Singh, stated that rescuers are still working diligently to ascertain how many miners remain trapped. While some reports indicated that more than a dozen miners had escaped, initial estimates suggested a much lower number of trapped individuals. The mine has been recognized for its illegal operations, despite a government ban imposed in 2014 to halt such mining practices that have a history of causing disasters.
This incident is not an isolated event, as mine-related disasters are common in the region. Similar tragedies have unfolded in nearby states, including Meghalaya, where 15 miners were trapped in December 2018, and Nagaland, where six workers lost their lives in January 2024 due to a fire outbreak in a rat-hole mine.
Amid these ongoing rescue efforts, the urgency for more stringent mining regulations and enforcement measures grows louder, as communities and authorities confront the dire implications of unsafe mining practices in India’s northeastern states.
The incident occurred early Monday morning when rising water levels from a nearby source flooded the mine. In the aftermath, Assam's Director General of Police, GP Singh, stated that rescuers are still working diligently to ascertain how many miners remain trapped. While some reports indicated that more than a dozen miners had escaped, initial estimates suggested a much lower number of trapped individuals. The mine has been recognized for its illegal operations, despite a government ban imposed in 2014 to halt such mining practices that have a history of causing disasters.
This incident is not an isolated event, as mine-related disasters are common in the region. Similar tragedies have unfolded in nearby states, including Meghalaya, where 15 miners were trapped in December 2018, and Nagaland, where six workers lost their lives in January 2024 due to a fire outbreak in a rat-hole mine.
Amid these ongoing rescue efforts, the urgency for more stringent mining regulations and enforcement measures grows louder, as communities and authorities confront the dire implications of unsafe mining practices in India’s northeastern states.
