Meghalaya: 13 trapped in a flooded illegal mine, rescue ops underway

Shillong, Dec 14: Thirteen people who were working in an illegal mine in East Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya got trapped after flooding. The mine is located at Ksan near Lyteiñ River, said reports.

The incident was reported to the district authorities on Thursday morning and the rescue efforts are on.

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said the incident was unfortunate, adding that the rescue efforts are underway in full swing to save the life of the trapped miners.

"The incident where 13 miners have been trapped in some mines in East Jaintia Hills is really unfortunate. We are very concerned about the individuals and their lives. NDRF, district administration and the police are doing all they can to save the lives of these miners," news agency ANI quoted Sangma as saying.

"We are aware that illegal activities were going on and action will be taken at appropriate time. What is more right now is to save lives of these individuals so continuous efforts have been going on and I have been in touch with Deputy Commissioner and SP on a continuous basis," he added.

This is not the first time that labourers engaged in illegal mining of coal have been trapped in a mine, a police officer said.

At least 15 miners were trapped in an illegal rat-hole coal mine near the Nangalbibra area in South Garo Hills in 2012. The bodies were never recovered, officials said.

OneIndia News with PTI inputs