The Supreme Court will on Friday hear the government’s response about the steps it has taken to rescue the 15 miners trapped inside an illegal rathole mine for three weeks.

The miners have been missing since December 13 after the illegal coal mine in Ksan village of the coal-rich East Jaintia Hills, an area where illegal mining is rife and a National Green Tribunal ban on such activities has been in place for four years, they were digging was flooded when water from the nearby Lytein river gushed into it.

The top court said on Thursday it was not satisfied with the steps taken by the Meghalaya government to rescue the miners.

“Every minute counts for those trapped there for almost three weeks. A prompt, immediate and effective operation is needed to rescue them,” a bench led by Justice AK Sikri told solicitor general Tushar Mehta.

The court was hearing a fresh public interest litigation (PIL).

“We are not satisfied (with steps taken for rescue). It is a question of life and death. What has happened in the last so many days we do not know. No matter whether they [trapped persons] are all dead, some alive, few dead or all alive, they should have been taken out by now. We pray to God that they all are alive,” the bench said.

Following the top court’s comments, the Odisha fire service installed a pump in a separate shaft to the one holding the trapped miners as these shafts are believed to be connected.

A team from Kirloskar Brothers also made ready its submersible pump, which was to be inserted into the main shaft. Officials from Coal India were also working to repair their submersible pump.

First Published: Jan 04, 2019 09:48 IST