New Delhi: A number of labourers were feared to be stuck after water flooded a ‘rat hole’ mine in Assam on Monday. The 300-foot-deep mine is situated in Umrangso, a remote industrial town in Dima Hasao district. Sources said that water has reached around 100 feet of the mine. Police and rescue teams have been rushed to the site, which is located near the Meghalaya border.
‘Rat hole’ mining is a dangerous technique in which narrow tunnels are manually dug by workers, leading to deep pits where coal is mined. This method also poses huge environmental hazard, as the acidic water and heavy metals released from the mines pollute water sources, making them toxic for both agricultural use and human consumption.
In 2018, a tragic incident occurred when as many as 15 miners were trapped in an illegal coal mine in the East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, after a flood caused by water from a nearby river. Even though extensive rescue efforts were made, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was only able to recover two bodies, as confirmed by the then-commandant, SK Sastri.
In November 2023, the road tunnel under construction in Uttarakhand collapsed, trapping 40 workers inside. Rat-hole miners, who are experts in digging tunnels in coal mines, were able to dig over 10 meters (till the end) within 48 hours and proved to be the saviours. After the tunnel collapsed , various government agencies worked relentlessly to ensure the safe evacuation of the workers.
