The rescuers ended a 44-day research operation after finding the bodies of five men trapped in a flooded coal mine in the northeast state of Assam in India.
DNA tests will be carried out to identify the men because the bodies are in a decomposed state, a state official told the BBC.
On January 6, nine minors were trapped after the water flooded the so -called “rat hole” mine, which is a narrow hole manually dug to extract coal.
Four bodies were recovered during the first week and research operations continued until Wednesday, when the remaining bodies were found.
“The remains identification process has been launched,” said Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma’s chief minister on the social media platform X.
The families of minors were also called upon to identify the bodies. They will be compensated by the government government, said Riki Phukan, an official of the Assam District Disaster Management Authority.
Research operations – at the Umrangso coal mine in the Dima Raissese district of Assam – were jointly led by special disaster forces alongside the Indian Navy, the Police D of the police D ‘State and authority of disasters in the district.
Divers and helicopters were also deployed, but the distant and hilly ground of the mine had posed serious challenges.
Earlier, one of the men saved from the mine had shared with the BBC a narrative tearing up moments after the tunnel was suddenly engulfed by water.
Ravi Rai, a worker from Nepal, said that he was working inside the mine when the water entered the pit.
“We had a rope in deep waters of 50 to 60 feet (15-18m) for at least 50 minutes before being withdrawn,” he said.
Despite the ban on the exploitation of “rat hole” in India since 2014, small illegal mines continue to be operational in Assam and other northeast states.
Six workers were killed in January 2024 after a fire broke out in a mine of rat holes in the state of Nagaland.
In 2018, at least 15 men were trapped in an illegal mine in Meghalaya after the water from a neighboring river flooded her.
After the recent accident, Assam police said they were investigating illegal mining activities.
