Rescue teams are racing against time to save eight miners who are trapped in a rat hole mine at Umrangso, in the Dima Hasao district of Assam. Tragedy struck on 6 January 2025 when water flooded the mine. The body of one of the miners named Ganga Bahadur Shreth was recovered by 21 Para divers from the bottom of the well.
The Indian Army, Indian Navy, NDRF, SDRF, ONGC and State agencies and are involved in the intensive search and rescue operations.
Assam Chief Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, said in a post on X platform on 7th January that according to the assessment by the stationed team, the water level inside the mine had risen to nearly 100 feet.
Later, he said that the police have registered an FIR under Umrangso PS Case No: 02/2025, citing Sections 3(5)/105 BNS, r/w Section 21(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, to investigate the incident. Prima facie, it appears to be an illegal mine, he said, adding that an individual named Punish Nunisa had been arrested in connection with the case.
In a statement, the Indian Navy said that it had mobilised a specialised team to assist in the rescue of miners trapped in Umrangso. The team, comprising one officer and eleven sailors, includes highly trained Clearance Divers skilled in deep depth diving and recovery operations, and is on site.
The team is fully equipped for this critical and sensitive mission, carrying specialized equipment such as deep diving gears and underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) for search and rescue, the Navy also said.
Diving Teams from Command Clearance Diving Team @IN_HQENC have been airlifted & deployed from Visakhapatnam for the #SearchandRescue Operations for trapped Miners at 3 Kilo Assam Quarry Mine, Umrangso, Dima Hasao, Assam.
The rescue effort is being conducted in close coordination… pic.twitter.com/WE1fGWi3Gy— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) January 8, 2025
List of Laborers Trapped in Mine (Umrangsu)
1.Ganga Bahadur Shreth (38 years): Udayapur, Nepal
2.Hussain Ali (30 years): Darrang, Assam
3.Jakir Hussain (38 years): Darrang, Assam
4.Sarpa Barman (46 years): Kokrajhar, Assam
5.Mustafa Seikh (44 years): Darrang, Assam
6.Khusi Mohan Rai (57 years): Kokrajhar, Assam
7.Sanjit Sarkar (35 years): Jalpaiguri, West Bengal
8.Lijan Magar (26 years): Dima Hasao, Assam
9.Sarat Goyary (37 years): Sonitpur, Assam
