Guwahati: Five bodies of labourers were recovered that involved an illegal rat hole mining at Tin Kilo in Umrangsu in Dima Hasao district of Assam after 43 days of relentless search and rescue efforts, teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Indian Army on Wednesday.
The opposition Congress raised this vital issue in the ongoing Budget Session of the Assam Assembly today morning only where in the afternoon all slain five bodies recovered circusticly.
This brings the total number of bodies retrieved from the illegal rat-hole mine to nine.
Superintendent of Police Dima Hasao Mayangk Kumar, IPS confirmed the development, saying, "Five more decomposed body has been recovered by the rescue teams today. The identification of the body is pending."
Earlier four bodies were recovered till January 11 where five labourers namely Sanjit Sarkar (35), Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, Sarpa Barman (45) Kokrajhar, Zakir Hussain (38), Darrang, Hossain Ali, (30), Darrang and Mostafa Sheikh (44), Darrang were missing in the rat hole mining.
Earlier, four bodies Ligen Magar, 27, a resident of Umrangshu, Ganga Bahadur Srestha of Nepal’s Udayapur district, Khushi Mohan Rai, 57, from Kokrajhar and Goyary 37 from Sonitpur were found till January 11.
Officials also confirmed that bodies were recovered despite due to heavy rainfall hindering rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) refuted media reports claiming the rescue operation had been discontinued. An official assured that operations are continuing 24x7, focusing that rescuers remain committed to retrieving the remaining trapped miners despite adverse weather conditions.
Reports suggest that severe rain and flooding have complicated efforts to recover the bodies. The situation remains critical as rescuers navigate difficult terrain and risk further mine collapses in their ongoing mission.
This crisis in Umrangso began on January 6 when reports surfaced that 10 miners were trapped in an illegal rat-hole mine. The disaster highlighted unsafe mining practices and poor safety measures, sparking nationwide concern. Heavy rainfall and inaccessible terrain also posed severe challenges, delaying recovery efforts.
The Gauhati High Court had taken suo-motu cognisance of the incident on February 7, ordering multiple respondents, including the Assam government and autonomous councils, to file detailed affidavits on the steps taken to tackle rat-hole mining.
