Assam: Op to rescue 8 labourers from mine enters Day 5, Coal India deploys pump

The 500 GMP high pump will be installed in three shifts across 24 hours, an official said.

Efforts to rescue eight people from a coal mine in Assam entered the fifth day on Friday, with Coal India installing a 500 GPM (gallons per minute) pump to dewater the mine, in which the people have been trapped since January 6.

Divers use a pulley to enter a coal mine to rescue trapped miners in Umrangso, a remote area in the northeastern state of Assam (REUTERS)

As per reports, the rescue operation is getting delayed because the water flooding the 3 Kilo Quarry in the Dima Hasao district's Umrangso has turned acidic and murky due to mixing with coal, hampering visibility and making manoeuvrability difficult for the Navy divers.

One body has been recovered from the mine thus far.

K Mere, General Manager, Northeastern Coal Field, told news agency ANI, “We have brought one high pump of 500 GMP from Nagpur and it is under installation. We have also brought two generators to allow this heavy pump to work.”

Mere added, “The installation will continue for 24 hours in three shifts. In one minute it can pump out 500 gallons of water. However, we don't know the exact situation underground.”

On Thursday, Inspector Roshan Kumar, commanding a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) at the site, said to ANI that despite a multi-agency effort, there was no reduction in the water level inside the mine.

Singh noted, “We have searched the vertical area but haven't been able to find anything. We are proceeding with taking out the water…Instead of decreasing, the water level has only increased.”

The joint operation is being carried out by the Indian Army, Navy and NDRF. Also, diving experts have been called upon for specialised support.