Rescue operations in the illegal mine in Meghalaya where 15 miners are trapped since December 13 have become difficult in the absence of a blueprint of the 355-ft well, Centre told Supreme Court on Friday.

Seepage of water into the mine located near a river has hindered the operations in which navy has also participated, solicitor general Tushar Mehta submitted before a bench led by Justice AK Sikri.

On hearing the law officer briefly, Supreme Court asked Mehta to file a status report on the steps taken so far and progress made in the rescue operation. The Supreme Court will now hear the matter on Monday.

Mehta came with details of the operations a day after the top court had expressed its dissatisfaction over the steps taken by the Meghalaya government and the Centre to rescue the miners. Court had said it was concerned with the lives of those stuck and that a “prompt, immediate and effective” operation was needed to help them as it was a matter of life and death.

He explained how those involved in the rescue work were facing hardships with the mine being illegal. At this the judge said: “But why should the poor suffer. If the mines are illegal you take action. The problem is that the workers are stuck.”

The apex court is hearing a PIL filed by advocate Aditya N Prasad who has said in his plea that Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL) had offered high-powered water pumps and given technical support to Thai government in June-July 2018 for the operation to rescue a trapped football team.

Mehta explained: “There are constraints since it’s an illegal mine. There is no blueprint like the cave in the [case of] Thailand rescue operations succeeded.”

First Published: Jan 04, 2019 23:24 IST