Three more bodies were found on Saturday (January 11) in the flooded rat-hole mine in Assam’s Dima Hasao district. These bodies were recovered five days after the accident.
The death toll now stands at four.
A combined rescue team from the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is working to rescue the miners trapped in the collapsed mine.
Meanwhile, five individuals are still missing, and their chances of survival are slim.
An official told news agency PTI that a miner’s body was discovered floating in the accumulated water within the collapsed mine, and was retrieved by divers from the Indian Army and NDRF. The deceased was identified as Lijen Magar from the same district.
Two more bodies were recovered from the collapsed mine several hours later.
Assam’s Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the mine had been operated by the state government’s Assam Mineral Development Corporation (AMDC) and had been abandoned 12 years ago.
“It was not an illegal mine, but an abandoned one,” he said, clarifying that the mining operation at the time of the incident was being conducted illegally.
Dima Hasao police have arrested another individual, Abdul Ganan Laskar, in connection with the incident. Punish Nunisa had already been taken into custody on Tuesday.
Superintendent of Police Mayank Kumar confirmed that both men were operators of the mine.
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Assam rat hole mine tragedy: 4 bodies recovered since Tuesday, 5 miners still trapped
