E-Paper
Meghalaya orders judicial probe into blast at illegal coal mine that killed 27
According to the police, there are at least 503 illegal rat-hole mines in the area, and efforts are ongoing to seal them.
The Meghalaya government on Monday decided to constitute a judicial inquiry commission to probe the blast at an illegal coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district last week that has so far claimed 27 lives and left nine others injured.
The explosion occurred on Thursday at a remote mine in the Mynsyngat–Thangskai area, where several workers were inside at the time of the incident. Rescue and recovery operations continued on Monday, with teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Meghalaya Police deployed at the site. By Saturday, 27 bodies had been recovered.
“The government has decided to constitute a judicial inquiry commission under the Commission of Inquiry Act to investigate the recent tragic mining incident in Mynsngat–Thangsko area in East Jaintia Hills,” chief minister Conrad Sangma said in a post on X on Monday. Details regarding the composition of the commission are yet to be announced.
Following the incident, the police registered a suo motu case and arrested two persons on Thursday for their alleged involvement in operating the illegal coal mine. Police said a search is underway for five more people suspected to have been responsible for handling operations at the site.
“Arrests of these persons are crucial to establish how exactly the blast took place, get details of how many people may have entered the mine on the day of the incident and also know how many more could be still inside,” said Vikash Kumar, superintendent of police, East Jaintia Hills.
Based on dying declarations of two workers, statements of the injured and preliminary investigation, police have concluded that the incident occurred after a dynamite blast was carried out inside the mine to locate more coal. Officials said the presence of methane gas, which is highly inflammable, triggered a massive fire following the blast, resulting in the deaths and injuries of most workers.
Apart from rescue efforts, the police have launched a crackdown on illegal coal mining activities in the district. During operations over the past few days, police recovered detonators, gelatine sticks and illegally mined coal from multiple sites.
“In the past three days, action at such sites has led to the recovery of 204 sticks of gelatin, over 175MT of illegally extracted coal and 60 detonators. Till now, a total of 30 cases related to illegal mining of coal, transportation and coal dumps have been registered and three persons arrested,” Kumar said.
According to the police, there are at least 503 illegal rat-hole mines in the area, and efforts are ongoing to seal them.
