Assam: Efforts to Rescue Nine Men Trapped in Rat Hole Mine Face Major Challenges

Umrangso: Rescuers face significant challenges in their ongoing efforts to retrieve nine miners trapped in a flooded rat hole mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district. The lack of visibility, absence of a blueprint, and persistent water inflow from an unknown source have hindered operations for four consecutive days. The mine, located in the coal reserves of Umrangso, became inundated on Monday morning, trapping the men inside.

Around 200 personnel from various forces, including the Indian Navy, National and State Disaster Response Forces, Army, Special Forces, and the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, are working tirelessly at the site.

Despite six search attempts since Tuesday, only one body, identified as Ganga Bahadur Srestho, was retrieved by divers from the 21 Para Special Forces on Wednesday.

The divers face significant challenges due to the lack of visibility and absence of any maps or blueprints of the mine. They must navigate the conical pit, which narrows as it goes deeper, entirely by touch. On Tuesday, they managed to search half of the pit's bottom area, and during a dive on Wednesday, a diver located a body while exploring the remaining section.

The central pit, which is approximately 310 feet deep, branches into several tunnels or ‘rat holes’ at the bottom, where the miners typically work. The retrieved body was found in the central pit, making it accessible.

However, no additional bodies were located in this area. The tunnels remain unexplored due to their inaccessibility and the uncertainty about how many extend from the central pit, adding to the complexity of the rescue operation.

Efforts to pump water out of the mine have been largely ineffective. Local motorized pumps have failed to lower water levels, which rose by six inches overnight.

A heavy-duty pump from ONGC could not be deployed as it was not submersible. On Thursday, a high-capacity pump from Coal India Limited, capable of removing 2,250 liters per minute, was airlifted to the site.

Diving operations have been temporarily suspended to allow for 24 hours of uninterrupted dewatering to facilitate further rescue efforts.

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