Assam mining accident: ‘Likely to get some more results,’ says Special DGP

Dima Hasao (Assam) [India], January 12 (ANI): As the rescue efforts are underway at the rat-hole coal mine at 3 Kilo, Umrangso area of Dima Hasao district, Harmeet Singh, Special DGP of Assam, on Saturday expressed hope for further progress in the operation, stating that the water level has been reduced by more than half and is expected to lower further.
"Now we have 12 pumps functioning. Six pumps in the main shaft and six pumps in three other shafts. And the water level has gone down by more than half. The water level was at about 30 meters. It is now less than 15 meters. We are not so sure about what more inflow will come. But right now, as things go today, you saw that with the flow and the pull of the water, we were able to recover three more mortal remains. So we are hopeful that tomorrow, with the water going down further and the shaft opening up further, and the arteries of the shaft opening up further, we will be able to maybe get some more results. And once we are able to clean up the arteries of water, then we hope that we can further take the rescue operation..." said the Special DGP of Assam.
Meanwhile, two more bodies were recovered on Saturday by a joint rescue team comprising the Indian Navy and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), bringing the death toll to four in the mining accident.
These are the third and fourth bodies recovered by the rescue teams.
HPS Kandari, Commandant of the 1st Battalion, NDRF, said, "If all water is drained out, we can easily go and conduct the search operation inside. 4 bodies have been recovered till now..."
On January 8, the first body, identified as Ganga Bahadur Shreth, was recovered from the flooded rat-hole mine.
A 12-member special rescue team from Coal India reached the site of the mine collapse in Assam's Dima Hasao on Friday to locate and rescue eight workers who are still trapped underground in the inundated rat-hole mine. (ANI)