SHILLONG: Exactly a month after 15 miners went missing inside an illegal coal pit at Khloo Ryngksan in East Jaintia Hills district on December 13, more experts joined the ongoing search operation on Sunday, however, failing to make any significant breakthrough.A hydrologist from the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, two teams from National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, and a Chennai-based company specializing in submersible robotic inspections, Planys Technologies, joined the operation on Sunday. The Indian Air Force, which is also assisting in the operation, had airlifted the experts and equipment, including remote operated vehicles, to Guwahati on Saturday.One remote-operated vehicle and a six-member team of the firm have joined the operation, said an official from Planys Technologies. “The team joined on Sunday. They are working with the Navy,” the official said.On Sunday, water continued to be pumped out from the main coal mine — where the miners are trapped — as well as old shafts near the main shaft. A spokesperson for the operation, R Susngi, said Coal India Limited pumped out water from an old shaft. “They are also preparing to pump out water from the next old shaft,” he said. Personnel of the Odisha Fire Service and the Kirloskar Brothers Limited are also using sophisticated pumps to drain out water from the main shaft of the mine.Meanwhile, a three-member committee of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has asked Meghalaya police to investigate into nearly 1,200 cases of illegal quarrying across the state.

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