Meghalaya: Rescue teams yet to reach 15 trapped miners

Hopes of evacuating the 15 trapped workers in a 370-feet deep illegal mine in Lumthari village for over two weeks were raised on Friday with the impending arrival a diving team of the Navy along with specialised equipment, including high-pressure pumps.

The Indian Air Force also provided two aircraft to the Meghalaya government for airlifting specialist personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) from Odisha for helping in the rescue operations. The Defence Ministry has said it is prepared to provide any help to the state government.

A 15-member diving team of the Navy from Vishakhapatnam is expected to reach the site here in Meghalaya tomorrow.

The team will have specialised diving equipment including a re-compression chamber and remotely operated vehicles capable of searching underwater.

"The situation is hopeful, the high-pressure pumps are arriving on site, I don't want to comment on when they will arrive, but I am hopeful," Assistant Commandant Santosh Kumar Singh from the 1st Battalion of NDRF told on Friday.

"The earlier pumps were not working well, so as soon as the pumps arrive, we are hopeful the water level will recede and we will further operate," he added.

He said a team of divers dived into the flooded coal mine to gauge the water level which has not changed since yesterday.

He said his team have not found any sign of the trapped miners yet.

Singh said he was not aware if any other teams or agencies will join the rescue operation, adding that a few senior officials from Coal India had come to the site earlier today and assessed the situation.

"The state had called them, they will send their report to the state soon," Singh said.