Three miners feared dead in flooded coal mine in Indian state

The Indian military has deployed divers, helicopters and engineers to help rescue the trapped men

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Three miners are feared dead after a coal mine in the northeastern Indian state of Assam was flooded, trapping 12 workers inside. Rescue teams have located three bodies but have not yet been able to recover them, local authorities in Assam’s Dima Hasao district said on Tuesday.

The mine flooded on Monday, reportedly when the miners hit an underground water channel, causing water to gush in and submerge the mine. "The source was internal. They probably hit some water channel and water came out and flooded it," said Mayank Kumar, the district police chief in Dima Hasao, speaking to Reuters.

The trapped workers are believed to be 300 feet (91 meters) below the surface, with rescue operations underway. Photographs released by the Indian military show rescue teams using ropes, cranes, and other equipment as they attempt to reach the miners. Divers, helicopters, and engineers have been deployed to assist in the efforts.

Assam's Mines Minister, Kaushik Rai, confirmed that the mine’s flooding occurred after water poured in from a nearby unused mine. "We are mobilising resources to rescue them," he said.

Mining conditions in northeastern India, particularly in Assam and the neighbouring state of Meghalaya, are often hazardous, with illegal "rat hole" mining operations common in the region's hilly areas. These small-scale operations are prone to accidents, and mining is frequently conducted without proper safety measures.

In 2019, a similar disaster in Meghalaya saw at least 15 miners buried after their illegal mine was flooded by water from a nearby river. The frequency of such accidents highlights the dangerous and often unregulated nature of mining in the region.