The army has been mobilized to rescue at least nine workers who are trapped inside an Indian coal mine, officials said Tuesday.
At least three people are believed to have died in the mine.
Why It Matters
The mine is an example of the small and hazardous "rat hole" mines that are rampant in hilly areas in the east and northwest of India.
These narrow holes dug manually to extract coal were banned in India since 2014, but small illegal mines continue to be operational in Assam and other northeastern states.
What To Know
The miners became trapped on Monday morning in India's northeastern Assam state.
The mine is in the Umrangso area in Dimapur Hasao district, some 125 miles south of the state capital, Guwahati.
Locals said there had been 27 workers in the mine on Monday morning, but most managed to escape as water from a nearby unused mine began filling the mine they were working from.
"The mine got flooded yesterday—the source was internal. They (the miners) probably hit some water channel and water came out and flooded it," Mayank Kumar, district police chief in Dima Hasao told Reuters.
Army Divers Mobilized
Authorities mobilized army soldiers and a national disaster management team to the area to assist in the operation.
Army teams deployed divers, helicopters and engineers to help rescue the nine men.
In images released by the military, divers in scuba kit are seen being lowered into a mine shaft.
On Tuesday, the Assam government said that three bodies had been spotted by rescue teams but have not yet been recovered.
Illegal 'Rat Hole' Mining
Disasters at coal mines in the region are not uncommon.
In 2019 at least 15 miners were buried in an illegal mine in the state of Meghalaya after it was flooded.
In 2021, a group of miners were trapped inside a similar "rat hole" mine in Meghalaya, after the mine was flooded following a dynamite explosion.
Despite the dangers of illegal mining, the livelihoods of those who do such mining depend on the illegal sale of coal.
During the extraction, the coal is placed in boxes that are hoisted to the surface with pulleys.
What People Are Saying
Kaushik Rai, a local government minister, told AFP that the workers are "feared trapped 300 feet below the ground after water gushed in from a nearby unused mine. We are mobilizing resources to rescue them." He said that more than 100 people were working to rescue the miners.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X: ''Navy deep divers have been requisitioned to assist in the rescue operation. The water level inside the mine has risen to nearly 100 feet, according to the assessment by the stationed team. The divers are flying in from Visakhapatnam and are expected to arrive soon."
What Happens Next
Rescuers are working to free the trapped miners, but it is unclear how many remain alive. The incident highlights the continued lack of safety for workers despite government attempts to ban the exploitation of dangerous "rat hole" mines.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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