2 die in illegal coal mine in India, 15 trapped

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Two coal miners were killed in India's northeastern state of Meghalaya, local media reported on Monday citing police sources.

The death of the two miners in Jaliyah village comes at a time when at least 15 other coal miners remain trapped in another coal mine in the same state.

Local officials along with special navy personnel are working overnight to rescue the trapped miners who are stuck in a 370-foot deep pit since Dec. 13 in Ksan village in the East Jaintia Hills district.

Coal mining is a booming business in India but much of it is illegally done and remains hidden from officials. The governments, both at local and central levels, have not been able to put a halt to the practice.

A relative of one of the deceased miners, identified as 26-year-old Elad Bareh, sought police help informing them that Bareh had been missing from his home since Friday.

"A search was conducted and his body was found in front of a 'rat-hole' coal mine. When we further checked inside the narrow mine, another body was found. The second man was identified as Monoj Basumatry," Sylvester Nongtnger, a senior police officer, told local broadcaster NDTV.

Police are on the lookout for the owner of the mine.

In an unfortunate turn of events, high-capacity pumps to suck out water from the collapsed coal mine stopped functioning.

“(However,) the firefighting team from Odisha (South-eastern Indian state) continued to drain out water from the two nearby coal mines,” rescue operations spokesman Reginald Susngi told Indian news agency IANS.

The rescue operations of 15 miners in Meghalaya brought back memories of dramatic rescue of 12 young football players and their coach in Thailand in mid-2018 boys from a flooded cave which drew a massive international audience.