Authorities and rescuers are racing against time as they intensify their efforts to save 15 miners trapped inside a coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya. The mine is located in Ksan village.

HERE IS WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:-

The rescuers have found three helmets so far. These helmets purportedly belong to the coal miners trapped inside. No miner has been found yet.

Indian Navy has sent a team of divers to Meghalaya to help the rescue efforts. The Navy said the divers have special equipment with remotely operated vehicles which will be a boost to the the rescue efforts.

Air Force airlifted 21 NDRF personnel and 10 high power pumps to Guwahati on Friday to help the rescue effort. Chief Fire Officer of the Odisha Fire Services Sukanta Sethi, who led the team, said, “The Ministry of Home Affairs has requested the Odisha government to send 10 high-powered pumps to assist the rescue operation in Meghalaya. I am leading the team and 20 personnel of Odisha Fire Services have arrived here [Guwahati] today. The aircraft of India Air Force had airlifted the team. We will start our journey to the spot of the accident and immediately start work.”

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has spoken with Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. Singh assured Sangma that all possible help will be provided

The miners had entered the rat hole mine on December 13. They were trapped when water from the nearby river gushed in.

Meghalaya Government had stopped the rescue effort for want of high-power pumps. The government received widespread criticism for halting rescue efforts as hopes of finding the miners alive was dimming with each passing second.

Chief Minister Conrad Sangma wrote to Coal India Limited requesting them to provide high-power pumps. Speaking to India Today, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma said, “A whole river is flowing into the particular mine, which is 200-300 feet below. The tunnel is lower and horizontal. This location is 40-50 kilometres away from the main road. We need 30 high power pumps. This was a huge logistical challenge.”

The coal mine is owned by Krip Chullet. Mining operations were being carried out by carving out very narrow horizontal tunnels which are called ‘rat-holes’.

The National Green Tribunal has banned unscientific mining of coal using small horizontal holes along the coal seams since 2014. Transportation of already extracted coal is intermittently allowed for exporting the mineral to Assam and Bangladesh.

However, illegal coal mining is rampant in the state. About 30 per cent of the 374 candidates who contested the elections were either owners of mines or have stakes in the largely unregulated coal mining and transportation industry, says a report.