UMRANGSO: Rescue operations continued at the Umrangso coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district on Sunday, where at least five labourers are believed to have died after becoming trapped in a coal mine. A specialised task force has been working to locate and retrieve the bodies.
According to a senior official, the task force has been de-watering the coal mine while Navy divers continue their search for the trapped workers.
On Saturday, the bodies of three labourers were recovered. One of them was identified as 27-year-old Ligen Magar, a resident of Dima Hasao district, whose body was found floating in the accumulated water in the mine.
The other two bodies recovered on Sunday were identified as 57-year-old Khusi Mohan Rai, from Magargaon in Kokrajhar district, and 37-year-old Sarat Goyary, from Thailapara, Batashipur in Sonitpur district.
Nine labourers were reported trapped in the coal mine in the Umrango area of Dima Hasao district about a week ago. The state administration and police launched a rescue operation to find the missing individuals.
While the precise number of trapped labourers remains uncertain, police have identified nine individuals, including a Nepalese national and a resident of West Bengal, alongside others from various regions in Assam. The identified workers are Ganga Bahadur Shreth, Hussain Ali, Jakir Hussain, Sarpa Barman, Mustafa Seikh, Khusi Mohan Rai, Sanjit Sarkar, Lijen Magar, and Sarat Goyary. Rescue operations are ongoing to locate them after a sudden flood engulfed the coal mine in Umrangso.
The state administration has requested assistance from the Army to support the ongoing rescue efforts.