Shillong: After over 15 days since the mine mishap in East Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya, the body of a miner was finally recovered on Wednesday. However, the body is yet to be identified, said a senior official.
As per reports, the body was recovered hours after Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said that divers of the Indian Navy, who are engaged in search and rescue operation at the illegal coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district, have spotted two bodies.
According to the chief minister, the navy and other teams are working day and night to rescue the trapped miners.
At least five miners were trapped in the mine when it was flooded after a dynamite explosion on May 30. Four of the miners are from Assam and one from Tripura.
The National Disaster Response Force, the state disaster response force, fire and emergency services personnel have been carrying out the rescue operations for the last weeks. Recently, they were joined by a team of divers from the Indian Navy.
Earlier, the rescue work had been disrupted due to heavy rain and water had to be pumped out before the operation could be resumed.
The National Green Tribunal had in 2014 imposed a blanket ban on rat-hole coal mining across Meghalaya, but illegal mining continues to take place, officials said.
Police have now arrested the coal mine owner and charged him with violation of the green court's order.
In December 2018, 15 miners died after they were trapped in a coal mine at Khloo Ryngksan in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district. Only three bodies could be recovered following over a month-long rescue operation to trace the miners.