Meghalaya mine rescue: Naval divers find body of 1 of 15 trapped in rat-hole coal mine

In a breakthrough in the rescue operations at the tragedy-hit coal mine at Lumthari in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills, Navy divers have detected the body of one of the miners

In a breakthrough in the rescue operations at the tragedy-hit coal mine at Lumthari in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills, Navy divers have detected the body of one of the miners at a depth of over 160 feet with the help of Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (UROV).

#MeghalayaMineTragedy: Body of 1 of the 15 trapped miners inside the rat hole mine in East Jaintia Hills found by Indian Navy divers using underwater ROV.
The body was located at a depth of more than 160 ft.
Rescue operations continue,

Image: ANI pic.twitter.com/uBHEqUUShN

— Northeast Live (@NELiveTV) January 17, 2019

As per latest reports, forensic experts are on their way to the disaster site from Tura in West Garo Hills to suggest the future course of action. It is only after their arrival the body will be retrieved.

Search operations to locate the rest of the miners are still underway. It may be mentioned that the body has been detected 20 days after multi-agency rescue operations began only on the 16th day after the incident.

The tragedy took place on December 13, 2018 when a group of labourers went down the rat-hole coal mine, not apprehending the danger. While one managed to escape, 15 others remained trapped as water gushed inside.

The NDRF team, along with help from SDRF and civil administration, was the first to start the rescue operation the next day of the incident.

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