Navy robot locates third body in Meghalaya coal pit

Shillong, Feb 24 (IANS) Indian Navy divers have located third body, completely decomposed, in the 370-feet deep flooded coal mine in the East Jaintia Hills district, where over a dozen miners remain trapped since December 13, an official said on Sunday.

"They (the Navy) detected another body on Saturday at 9.30 p.m. with the help of a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV)," a senior rescue official told IANS.

However, the official said the body could disintegrate on retrieval attempt. "The body was found to be highly decomposed. The flesh started tearing off when the ROV tried to get a grip on it," he said.

The ROV had detected first body on January 16 and the second on January 26 from the rat-hole coalmine.

Of the 15 trapped miners, the Navy could retrieve only one body on January 23. It was identified to be of Amir Hussain of western Assam's Chirang district.

Meanwhile, teams from Coal India Limited, Kirloskar Brothers Limited and KSB continue to pump water out from the abandoned mine.

The coal pit disaster at Ksan village took place on December 13, 2018 despite interim ban on rat-hole coal mining in the state by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) since April 17, 2014.

The tragedy came to light after five miners escaped the coal pit, flooded by water from a nearby river.

The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the rescue operations, has told the government the trapped miners must be taken out of the mine, "dead" or "alive".

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