Three missing miners: India uses divers and helicopters

Three missing miners: India uses divers and helicopters

Guwahati, India (Reuters) —Three miners are feared dead in a flooded coal mine in a remote district of the northeast Indian state of Assam. Authorities said Tuesday that rescue teams worked through the night to reach a total of nine men trapped in the mine.

Rescue operations underway

Rescue teams have already sighted three bodies, but they have not yet been recovered, the local government said in a statement.

Military units are supporting the rescue

The military has sent divers, helicopters and engineers to help rescue the nine men trapped in the mine in Assam's hilly Dima Hasao district since Monday. This information was released in a statement from the military.

Cause of flooding

"The mine was flooded yesterday - the cause was internal. The miners probably hit a water channel, causing water to enter and flood the mine," Dima Hasao district police chief Mayank Kumar told Reuters.

Cooperation between rescue workers

Kumar reported that military rescue teams and national and state disaster response forces are working to reach the trapped miners.

Past of coal mine accidents

Accidents in coal mines are not uncommon in India's remote northeast. One of the biggest accidents occurred in 2019, when at least 15 miners were buried by water from a nearby river while working in an illegal mine in the neighboring state of Meghalaya.