A 300-feet-deep coal mine at Umrangso in Assam's Dima Hasao district was suddenly flooded with water up to about 100 feet, trapping eight miners working there. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) started pumping out water to rescue 8 people trapped in the coal mine.
Rescue operations are underway at the coal mining site where National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) 1st Battalion Commandant H P S Kandari said two pumps are being used to pump out water from the mine. This process will continue throughout the night, allowing manual search to begin once the water recedes.
Statement of Commandant HPS Kandari
NDRF Commandant Kandari said that the process has already begun, two pumps are being used. Water is already being pumped out from one pump and the other has also started. This process will last throughout the night. Once the water is drained we can go inside and do a manual search.
Meanwhile, Director General of Police (DGP) Harmeet Singh said, "A body has been found in the lower part of the shaft. On Tuesday, the water was very dirty and the water was quite acidic. So nothing was visible. So today, four divers from the NDRF and the Army went down. They managed to remove a carcass from the bottom of the shaft. Now we have arterial tunnels everywhere.
Use Remotely Operated Vehicle
DGP Harmeet Singh said that the ROV (remotely operated vehicle) has made one round, the ROV of the Navy has made one round of the entire shaft. The ROV has both photography and sonar capabilities.
Nothing has come out of it. Now Navy divers are moving into the shaft. We will first clean the shaft and then start entering the tunnels. Meanwhile, continuous efforts are on to extract water from the well.
Challenge for Rescue Team
The dangerous conditions underground have posed many challenges for the rescue teams. Diving experts are now being called in for special assistance.
Highlighting the dangers and uncertainties of the operation, Commandant Kandari said that diving to other places is a different thing but in these conditions, we need specialists, as we cannot predict what the conditions will be inside. There may be several types of mining equipment that can hinder the salvage process.