Summary:
We are waiting," he said.The miners were trapped after water from the nearby Lytein river gushed into the illegal rat-hole mine at Ksan area in Lumthari village.Operations to rescue the trapped miners entered its 10th day on Saturday. "We are running out of time and I hope they respond to the request. SHILLONG: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma Saturday said time was running out for the miners trapped inside a 370-foot illegal coal mine since December 13 and in its last ditch effort to save them, the state government has sought high-power submersible pumps from Coal India Ltd.He said the state government has written to the Coal India seeking their special pumps (high-power submersible pumps) to aid the rescue of the 15 miners in Lumthari area of East Jaintia Hills district. The NDRF teams, which are involved in the rescue operation, had earlier suggested the district administration to ask the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation to deploy submersible water pumps to reduce the water level.In 2014, the National Green Tribunal had imposed a ban in Meghalaya on rat-hole coal mining, a technique that entails digging small vertical pits to reach the mineral pockets. After reaching the bottom of the pit, the miners entered the horizontal manholes, often termed as 'rat-holes', as each just about fits one person to get in.According to villagers, one of the diggers could have accidentally punctured the walls of the cave and the river water gushed in immediately, trapping the miners inside.Only five persons managed to climb out of the mine..