Assam Coal Mine Tragedy: Bodies Of Three Miners Recovered So Far, 6 Still Trapped – News18
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As the rescue operation entered its sixth day on January 11, the body of a second miner was retrieved from the flooded coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district
Rescue operation underway to save seven labourers trapped inside a coal mine at Umrangso area in Assam’s Dima Hasao district. (Photo: PTI)
Assam Coal Mine Tragedy: As the rescue operation entered its sixth day on January 11, the bodies of two miners were retrieved from the flooded coal mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district on Saturday.
The officials said that one body was retrieved at 7:36 am on Saturday amid a joint rescue operation by the Army and the National Disaster Response Force. The deceased was identified as Lijen Magar, 27, a resident of Umrangso.
“Two bodies were recovered during the ongoing search operations—one by Indian Army Special Forces (21 SF) divers and another by NDRF divers. With this, the total number of bodies recovered so far stands at three,” officials said.
With this, the number of trapped persons came down to six.
Earlier, the rescue teams recovered the body of Ganga Bahadur Sreshto, who was among the nine labourers trapped inside a 3-kilo coal quarry at Umrangso after a sudden gush of water flooded the site on January 6.
“We went to see the water level in the morning, we spotted a body, it was rescued. Two bodies have been recovered since the operation started. Water level has receded by six metres since we came here,” NDRF team commander Roshan Kumar Singh told news agency PTI.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a post on X, confirmed the retrieval of the second body during the rescue operation on Saturday.
“Rescue efforts in Umrangsu continue with unwavering resolve. Tragically, another body was recovered this morning, with the identity yet to be confirmed,” the chief minister said. “Our hearts go out to the grieving, as we hold on to hope and strength in this difficult time,” he added.
The identity of the recovered body has been confirmed as Ligen Magar, aged approximately 27 years, a resident of 1 No. Umrangshu, Dima Hasao, Assam. https://t.co/jKQ2tuUIKU— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 11, 2025
Gaurav Gogoi Seeks SIT Probe
Congress MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to order an SIT probe into the incident.
“Illegal mining continues unchecked in Assam, fuelled by weak law enforcement and local complicity. I have written to the Prime Minister urging an urgent SIT probe to investigate this tragedy. Those responsible for this tragedy must be held accountable. Moreover, broader issues of safety, corruption, and environmental harm need to be addressed too,” he posted on x.
As of today, rescue operations have entered their sixth day, but the fate of five coal miners trapped in the illegal coal mine at Dima Hasao remains uncertain. The bodies of four miners have been recovered so far.Illegal mining continues unchecked in Assam, fuelled by weak… pic.twitter.com/Gpy0RziFJu
— Gaurav Gogoi (@GauravGogoiAsm) January 11, 2025
On Thursday night, the leader of the trapped workers was arrested, even as rescuers from the Navy and Army made little headway on the operation’s fifth day.
Police said their ‘sardar’ (leader), Hanan Laskar, had fled the site soon after. Earlier on Tuesday, Punish Nunisa, the quarry’s lease-holder, was arrested.
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