Meghalaya mine update: Odisha Fire services join Rescue Team

Guwahati, January 1, 2018:

As rescue operations enter the 20th day, men from the Odisha fire services have joined the manhunt for more than fifteen miners who are feared trapped in a Ksan coal mine near the Lytien River in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia district. Men from Odisha Fire services are pumping water from a nearby coal mine while divers from the NDRF and Indian Navy have gone down to the main shaft in a bid to locate any surviving miners. The Navy divers have managed to dive 90-feet deep into the 370-feet deep mine.

It may be mentioned that on the 18^th day of operations, Navy divers stayed in the mine with a high-tech gadget called the Under Water Remotely Operated Vehicle (UWROV), but visibility was found to be only one foot. The Indian Navy has ascertained that precautions are being taken to ensure that divers do not suffer from decompression sickness, which is experienced in a compressed environment. Rescuers are still hoping that some of the miners might have found an air pocket, keeping their chances of survival alive. It is reported that about 100 members of the NDRF are camping at the site, but their efforts have been impeded by lack of proper equipment.