Two Coal Miners Killed In Another Rat-Hole Mine Collapse, Search For 15 Trapped At Older Site Ongoing
In another illegal coal mining incident that was taking place in the same district, two miners were killed on Sunday, NDTV reported. The deceased have been identified as Elad Bareh and Monoj Basumatry from Mooknor in Jalyiah village.
It is almost going to be a month since 15 miners got trapped in a ¡°rat-hole¡± in Meghalaya¡¯s coal-rich East Jaintia Hills district. Scuba Divers, pumps, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as well as the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) made efforts to rescue the miners during this period.
Water was being pumped out when the mine got flooded but it was too little, too late as even on December 29, there was no sign of the workers in a 320 deep feet mine.
However, in another illegal coal mining incident that was taking place in the same district, two miners were killed on Sunday, NDTV reported. The deceased have been identified as Elad Bareh and Monoj Basumatry from Mooknor in Jalyiah village.
Photo: AFP/In this file photo taken on December 29, 2018, Indian National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel gather for the rescue operation
The fresh accident at Mooknor, Jalyiah village, about 5 km from the district headquarters in East Jaintia Hills, came to the fore after one Philip Bareh filed a report that his nephew Elad Bareh (26) had been missing from his home since Friday, IANS reported.
The police suspected that they might have been killed by falling boulders that hit them while they were trying to extract coal. The police is under the process of finding the owner of the quarry.
Sylvester Nongtnger, district police chief, told IANS, "A search was conducted and his body was found in front of a 'rat-hole' coal mine. When we further checked inside the narrow mine, another body was found. The second man was identified as Monoj Basumatry.¡±
Photo: AFP/In this file photo taken on December 30, 2018, Indian Navy divers are lowered into the mine
The bodies have been sent for autopsy.
Meanwhile, HT reported that four other cases of illegal mining have been discovered in East Jaintia Hills district. Superintendent of police of East Jaintia Hills S Nongtnger told the publication that there was no end to rat hole mining despite NGT banning the practice in 2014 citing environmental reasons. ¡°As soon as we arrest 10 (illegal miners), 20 more turns up in the district,¡± she was quoted as saying.
At this point, it can only be called a miracle if the rescue teams find miners at the older site alive, but the agonizing wait of the fifteen families in Meghalaya continues as the multi-agency search operations to locate 15 of them are yet to make any headway.
"Rathole" mines are common in Meghalaya as they are dug by locals but are very dangerous as the coal is pulled out from narrow, horizontal seams. In a petition filed by the All Dimasa Students¡¯ Union, it was alleged that rat-hole mining in Jaintia Hills was polluting the Kopili River and turning its water acidic.