GUWAHATI: In Assam’s Tinsukia district, which borders Arunachal Pradesh, a landslip struck an illegal rat-hole mine, trapping three coal miners who are thought to be dead. To conduct a rescue operation, the authorities called upon various agencies, including the police, to come into action. When the latest news arrived, the activities were in progress.
The event happened after midnight on Saturday at a mining site in the Patkai hills, halfway between Bargolai and Namdang. We have been informed that three people are missing. Tinsukia district magistrate Swapneel Paul informed this publication, “We are taking the necessary action.
When the accident happened, four miners were present at the location. Three were using the rat-hole mining technique to extract coal from a small tunnel, while one person was in charge of transporting the coal. The landslip confined the three people within the tunnel.
Media were informed by a local that the incident happened shortly after Saturday midnight. He verified that three people were indeed trapped. In 2014, the National Green Tribunal outlawed rat-hole mining. Still, In the Northeast, coal is still extracted using this risky technique.
The coal belt of Tinsukia’s Ledo-Margherita region borders the Changlang district of Arunachal. It is alleged that the region’s fauna has suffered permanent harm as a result of illegal coal mining.
At a coal mine located in the Wokha area of Nagaland in January of this year, six labourers perished from burns and four others suffered injuries. Two of the missing people are reportedly from Meghalaya, while one is identified as Dawa Sherpa from Nepal, according to the reports.
Three coal miners are trapped inside a rat-hole mine in Assam following a landslide that occurred during illegal mining activities. The incident took place in the Tinsukia district, a region notorious for unregulated rat-hole mining, which poses severe risks due to its hazardous conditions.
Incident Details
- The miners were reportedly working in an illegal rat-hole coal mine when the mine’s walls collapsed due to a landslide, blocking their exit.
- Authorities suspect that loose soil and unsafe mining practices led to the accident.
- The trapped miners’ condition remains unknown, and there has been no communication with them since the collapse.
Rescue Operations Underway
- National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams have been deployed for rescue efforts.
- Heavy machinery is being used to clear debris and provide an access point for rescuers.
- Oxygen supply and alternative escape routes are being explored.
Concerns Over Illegal Mining
- Rat-hole mining, banned by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), continues illegally in parts of Northeast India.
- Such mining is extremely dangerous, with frequent fatal accidents due to cave-ins, toxic gases, and flooding risks.
- Environmentalists and activists have urged authorities to crack down on illegal coal mining to prevent such tragedies.
Rescue teams are working against time to safely extricate the miners. Officials remain hopeful, but challenges like unstable soil and narrow tunnels make the operation risky.
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