Meghalaya Mine Collapse: Odisha Fire Fighters Join Rescue Ops

Bhubaneswar: Odisha has joined the rescue operation to evacuate the 15 miners trapped inside a rat-hole mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills. An Indian Air Force plane carrying high-power pumps and NDRF personnel along with a special team of Odisha Fire Services took off from Bhubaneswar on Friday.

Director General of Fire Services B K Sharma said a 20-member team led by chief fire officer (CFO) Sukanta Sethi left for Shillong in a special Indian Air Force aircraft with equipment, including high-power pumps. “They will assist the local authorities in efforts to rescue those trapped,” he said.

The special C130J Indian Air Force plane will land in Guwahati, from where the powerful pumps will be taken to the East Jaintia Hills. The team is carrying at least 20 high-power pumps capable of flushing out 1,600-litre water per minute, apart from other high-tech equipment and gadgets.

Inspector General of Police, Fire Service, Rajesh Kumar said the team would chalk out plans the search operations after taking stock of the situation at the site.

“It is for the first time that a fire service team from Odisha is undertaking rescue operation in mines. It will be challenging task since the site is continuously flooded due to flow of water from a nearby river,” the CFO said.

The workers were trapped in the ‘rat-hole’ mine on December 13, after water from the nearby Lytein river gushed into it. The Meghalaya government along with NDRF and other agencies have been speeding up rescue operations with the help of a team of state-run Coal India Ltd.