Assam Coal Mine Incident: 1 Body Recovered, Many Still Trapped

Two days after water flooded the quarry, trapping nine workers inside, rescue teams on Wednesday recovered a body from a coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district.

The body was recovered by divers from the 21 Para unit at the mine in Umrangso's 3 Kilo area. Rescue efforts by personnel from the Navy, Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) remain ongoing.

"Many attempts were made yesterday but we didn't succeed... A joint team of divers went in today and recovered one body. Diving in such situations is a different ballgame. We need experts as we cannot guess the conditions that would be there inside," ANI quoted the commandant of NDRF's 1st Battalion, HPS Kandari, as saying.

Divers, flown in from Visakhapatnam, conducted a reconnaissance of the site before descending into the flooded mine. Meanwhile, the SDRF's de-watering pumps are being transported to the site from Umrangso. An ONGC de-watering pump has also been loaded onto an MI-17 helicopter at Kumbhigram, awaiting favorable weather for deployment.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that he had spoken with Union Coal Minister G. Kishan Reddy, who assured that a team from Coal India would join the rescue operations from Wednesday. According to Sarma, the water level inside the 340-foot-deep quarry has risen to nearly 100 feet, complicating the rescue mission.

The trapped workers have been identified as Ganga Bahadur Shreth, Hussain Ali, Jakir Hussain, Sarpa Barman, Mustafa Seikh, Khushi Mohan Rai, Sanjit Sarkar, Lijan Magar, and Sarat Goyary.

Preliminary investigations suggest the mine was operating illegally. The police have registered a case under Umrangso PS Case No: 02/2025, invoking Sections 3(5)/105 of the BNS Act and Section 21(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. One person, Punish Nunisa, has been arrested in connection with the incident.

"This appears to be an illegal mine," the chief minister stated in a social media post, highlighting the need for a thorough investigation into the tragedy.

Efforts to rescue the remaining trapped workers continue, as authorities strive to address the challenges posed by the rising water levels and complex mine conditions.