Dima Hasao:
Several teams from various central and state organizations and all three arms of the Indian Armed Forces – the Army, Navy and Air Force – are one way or the other involved in the operation to rescue the workers trapped in a flooded mine since Monday in Assam. . However, three days later, eight workers are still in the 'rat hole' mine and the body of the ninth has been recovered.
So what's hindering the rescue effort? Here's what experts had to say:
The water that flowed into the 3kg coal quarry in Dima Hasao's Umrangso district, rescuers said, is now sour and cloudy because it has been mixed with coal. This has made visibility and maneuverability very difficult, even for the Navy team, which includes clearance divers trained in deep diving and recovery operations. The rescue teams' divers, they said, had to risk their lives to extract the body, as they did on Wednesday.
The murky water even makes it difficult to use remotely operated vehicles, according to an official.
The mine is 90 meters deep and several pumps have been used to get the water out. On Wednesday, a team of experts from Western Coalfields Limited, which is among the best for such rescue operations, was also flown in with a huge submersible pump.
“On January 8, a five-person team was flown to the accident site in a C-130 Hercules aircraft. The team is equipped with a huge submersible pump that can pump out 500 liters of water per minute at a height of 150 meters. cable network, starters and other equipment to assist in the rescue operations,” Western Coalfields said in a statement.
Despite all this, the water level in the main shaft is still at almost 30 meters, complicating the rescue operation.
Another aspect that makes the search for the workers difficult is that the 90 meter deep main shaft leads to four small tunnels in the 'rat hole' mine, each of which branches off, creating a large network. There is no blueprint available for rescue teams to refer to.
Speaking to NDTV on Wednesday, a worker at the mine, Jalaluddin, said the height of some tunnels is barely three feet.
“There is no room even to stand, and we have to stoop down and dig coal. Even when we sit, the roof is only 4 to 5 inches above our heads,” he said.
Harmeet Singh, Special Director General of Police, said: “There are canals pouring water back into the tunnel. The Navy divers are looking in the tunnels but so far they have not seen anything.”