At least six workers are feared trapped in a 500 feet coal mine at Umpleng area in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district, police said on May 31.
The accident came to light when one Karimul Bari of Assam’s Cachar district reported to the Assam Police that one of his neighbours was among five-seven miners who were feared killed in a coal mine accident in Meghalaya.
The Meghalaya government directed deputy commissioner of East Jaintia Hills district, E Kharmlaki to institute a magisterial inquiry on the mishap and to file an FIR against whoever is involved.
Malthus Sangma, additional deputy commissioner of East Jaintia Hills will head the magisterial inquiry.
“We received information about some miners trapped in a coal mine from the Silchar Police. No one has informed us about people missing. However, we took serious note of the reported incident and directed the East Jaintia Hills police to verify it,” East Jaintia Hills DC E Kharmalki told the media.
Kharmalki said that the state disaster and relief force have been rushed to the spot and rescue work started on May 31, but due to inclement weather it had to be stopped and would continue on June 1.
Superintendent of police, East Jaintia Hills district, Jagpal Singh Dhanoa, said he had received the information about six mine workers being trapped in a coal mine in the district on the night of May 30 from superintendent of police, Silchar.
“The district police were able to identify the probable location of the incident at 6 am on May 31. The delay in identification of probable site was due to inclement weather, poor light condition and non-availability of any eye witness account,” the police official said.
Out of the six missing miners, Dhanoa said three have been identified as: Abdul Karim of Assam’s Boko, Abdul Kalam of Assam’s Barpeta district, Shyamcharan Debbarma of Tripura, while two others are unidentified persons from Assam’s Silchar.
