Meghalaya miners rescue: Ops delayed as Odisha, navy teams yet to arrive

On Saturday, a three-member advance team of the Indian Navy had visited the site and had conducted a recce of the site and the mine. The three-member team included an officer and two clearance divers. A 21-member team from the Odisha Fire Service contingent had also visited the site.

The rescue operations for the 15 trapped miners were delayed on Sunday morning as the Indian Navy divers and Odisha Fire Services teams were yet to arrive at the spot.

NDRF personnel conduct a rescue task at the site of a coal mine collapse at Ksan, in Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya(PTI Photo)

“Neither Odisha nor Navy has arrived at the spot yet,” NDRF assitant commandant Santosh Kumar Singh told Hindustan Times.

On Saturday, a three-member advance team of the Indian Navy had visited the site and had conducted a recce of the site and the mine. The three-member team included an officer and two clearance divers. A 21-member team from the Odisha Fire Service contingent had also visited the site.

“They did a recce of the spot, spent 30 minutes inside the main pit. They also held a meeting with us and are likely to start operations tomorrow. Now that they are here we will assist them,” Santosh Kumar Singh had said on Saturday.

Watch: India navy divers join search for trapped miners in Meghalaya

He also said that the water level within the mine had not changed and was stable at 176 metres.

While the Odisha Fire Service will help drain the mine, the Navy divers will enter the mine to look for the trapped miners.

The rescue operations to help the miners had begun on December 14 but had to be stopped as the pumps that had been installed were not powerful enough to drain the mines. The state government had then sought help from the Centre following which high-powered pumps and a team was dispatched from Odisha.