Assam: Death toll rises to 4 as 2 more bodies recovered from Umrangso coal mine

Dima Hasao, Assam, January 11 (ANI): Two more bodies were recovered on Saturday from a rat-hole coal mine at 3 Kilo, Umrangso area, in Dima Hasao district of Assam 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.
This is the third and fourth body recovered by the rescue teams respecitively.
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..."
In the meantime, Coal India will deploy a pump to assist in the rescue efforts for the trapped miner in the 3 Kilo Umrangso area, an official said.
Speaking to ANI, General Manager of Coal India, Kolkata, Sanjay Kumar said, "As soon as we got the news, we were asked to come and give the maximum possible help. We got a new pump from Nagpur. Yesterday we tested the pump. The electrical power generator is ready. In the meantime, small pumps have also started. Water is also decreasing. Today we will try to make a platform and then we will lower the pipe. The preparatory job is ready, we are preparing the platform as soon as the platform is ready, we will load the pipes and try to start the pump. A special rescue team is also on standby."
In the morning, the second deceased miner, whose body was recovered at 7:36 AM, was identified as Lt Lijen Magar, 27, a resident of Kalamati village in the district.
Roushan Kumar Singh, Inspector of 1st Battalion of NDRF told ANI that they recovered a body floating in the water this morning while checking the water levels inside the mine. He said that the rescue teams took out the body around 7:30 AM.
"We check the water level every morning. And when we were doing that, we saw a body floating. So we took it out at around 7:30 am. The water level has been reduced by six metres. Five pumps were working overnight. The operation is going on 24 hours," Inspector Singh, Team Commander, NDRF said.
"Later our rescue team recovered the body. The water level of the mine is now receding. Last night five pumps were used in the dewatering process and this process continues," he added.
On January 8, the rescue teams recovered the first body identified as Ganga Bahadur Shreth from the inundated rat-hole mine.
A 12-member special rescue team of Coal India had 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)