Meghalaya mine tragedy: Navy divers to resume rescue ops today
Shillong, Jan 1: It has been 20 days 15 men are trapped in the 370-feet deep coal mine in Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya. Navy divers have managed to dive as deep as 90 foot. Rescue personnel hope that some trapped miners might have found an air pocket and are still alive.
According to NDTV report, a team of about 100 experts from the National Disaster Response Force or NDRF have been camping at the site, but their operations have been hampered by lack of sophisticated equipment.
The miners started working inside the illegal mine on December 11. Two days later, water from Lytein river and an abandoned mine gushed in and flooded the coal mine trapping the 15 miners. The mine was filled with water till 70 feet.
Firefighters
Firefighting personnel conduct rescue task at the site of the coal mine collapse at Ksan, in Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, Monday, Dec. 31, 2018. (PTI Photo)
Navy divers
A team of 11 Navy divers with their equipments deployed to conduct rescue task at the site of a coal mine collapse at Ksan, in Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya. Indian Navy divers on Monday again entered the flooded mine where 15 miners are trapped, and said the search would be feasible only after the water level inside the shaft is reduced to a safe diving limit of 30 metres. PTI photo
Hi-tech gadget
On the 18th day of the operation, the Navy divers stayed inside the shaft for three hours with a hi-tech gadget, Under Water Remotely Operated Vehicle (UWROV), and found visibility to be very poor only one foot, operation spokesperson R Susngi said. PTI photo
Navy rescue ops
"The Indian Navy suggested that the administration using pumps to reduce the water level inside the mine shaft till about 30 metres (98 feet) or within safe diving limit before they commence diving," Susngi said. According to the Navy, all precautions are being taken to ensure that divers do not suffer from decompression sickness, which is usually experienced in a compressed environment as that of the mine in Lumthari village. PTI photo