Shillong: At least six workers are feared trapped in a 500 feet coal mine at Umpleng area in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district, police said on Monday.
The accident came to light when one Karimul Bari of Assam's Cachar district reported to the Assam police that one of his neighbours was among five-seven miners who were feared killed in a coal mine accident in Meghalaya.
The Meghalaya Government has directed the Deputy Commissioner of East Jaintia Hills district, E .Kharmlaki to institute a magisterial inquiry on the mishap and to file an FIR against whoever is involved.
Malthus Sangma, the additional Deputy Commissioner of East Jaintia Hills will head the magisterial inquiry.
“We received information about some miners trapped in a coal mine from the Silchar police. No one has informed us about people missing. However, we took serious note of the reported incident and directed the East Jaintia Hills police to verify it,” District Magistrate of East Jaintia Hills, E. Kharmalki told UNI over phone.
Kharmalki said that the State Disaster and Relief Force have been rushed to the spot and rescue work started on Monday, but due to inclement weather it had to be stopped and would continue on Tuesday.
Superintendent of Police, East Jaintia Hills district, Jagpal Singh Dhanoa, said he had received the information about six mine workers being trapped in a coal mine in the district on the night of May 30 from Superintendent of Police, Silchar.
"The district police were able to identify the probable location of the incident at 6 am on Monday. The delay in identification of probable site was due to inclement weather, poor light condition and non-availability of any eye witness account," the police official said.
Out of the six missing miners, Dhanoa said three have been identified as: Abdul Karim of Assam's Boko, Abdul Kalam of Assam's Barpeta district, Shyamcharan Debbarma of Tripura, while two others are unidentified persons from Assam's Silchar.
Quoting eyewitnesses, Dhanoa said, "Due to the sudden explosion of dynamite, five persons got trapped in the sudden rush of water into the mine and within no time the mine was inundated."
The authorities have identified the Sordar or manager of the mine as Nizam Ali who is absconding now.
"Instead of helping the miners Ali chased away the survivors from the mining site," Dhanoa said, quoting eyewitnesses.
On the other hand, Home Minister Lahkmen Rymbui said that the accident had occurred in an abandoned mine, which is owned by one K Chyrmang, who has been detained for questioning.
"Police have detained Chyrmang for questioning, but unfortunately, Chyrmang's swab samples tested positive for COVID-19 infection and is now being kept under isolation," Rymbui told UNI.
"The state police are on a manhunt to nab the Sordar to find out the facts of the incident," the Home Minister said.
In fact, the Umpleng's incident looks like that the victims were working as coal miners thus recreating the unfortunate 2018 Ksan coal mining mishap in which over 17 miners drowned in an illegal coal mining operation.
The bodies in that tragedy were never accounted for except a few.
Coal mining is banned in Meghalaya since April 2014 by a National Green Tribunal order. The green Court banned rat home mining ironically to avert such mishaps in the unregulated and dangerous mines.
Though the government denies any illegal mining, there are accusations that an elaborate nexus between politicians, bureaucrats, police have ensured that such illegal mining continues unhindered.
In the 2018 mining tragedy, all the miners were working illegally. Many of the bodies couldn't be retrieved or accounted for although much efforts were put in by the Army, Navy, NDRF and
A similar mishap at Sorkari near Dienshlalu Village in the same district claimed the lives of six Assam miners in January this year. (UNI)