The tragedy highlights the dangers of unregulated mining operations in the region. Rescue efforts continued as families mourned the loss, and authorities worked to locate missing miners amid the disaster.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has announced a judicial inquiry into the recent blast at an illegal coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district, which resulted in the deaths of 27 people.
Meghalaya Police seized drugs worth over 51 crore in East Jaintia Hills district, arresting two Mizoram-based individuals, marking the state's largest narcotics haul to date.
At least 16 labourers were killed and several others are feared trapped following an explosion at an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district. Rescue operations are underway.
The human cost of rat-hole mining falls disproportionately on migrant labourers.
Two Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in Meghalaya's West Jaintia Hills district for entering India without valid travel documents. A local driver was also apprehended for allegedly facilitating their illegal entry.
Surface links to Assam's Barak Valley and Dima Hasao district and to neighbouring states of Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur remained snapped on Tuesday as incessant rains triggered landslides and washed off roads as well as railway tracks in multiple locations of Assam and Meghalaya.
Susngi said there was slight dip in the water level in the mine shaft, but it was not significant enough.
The officials said the body was spotted at a depth of more than 200 feet inside the "rat-hole" mine and naval divers brought it to its mouth.
A preliminary probe revealed that the two miners had died after boulders hit them while extracting coal, the SP said, adding that the police were trying to trace the owner of the mine.
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The body, located 200 feet away from the bottom of the mine, was brought out using the Indian Navy's underwater remotely operated vehicle and an National Disaster Response Force boat on Wednesday, said operations spokesman R Susngi.
The Navy wanted to ascertain the water level as their divers can operate up to 100 feet in a closed container-type situation, a district official said.
The body has been detected inside the 370-foot-deep coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district,
However, the National Disaster Response Force, which has been engaged in the rescue operation since the day of the tragedy on December 13 last, will continue with their services.
Two teams of the National Disaster Response Force consisting of over 60 personnel reached on Friday morning, while 12 personnel from the State Disaster Response Force are already at the site.
On skeletons being seen by the Navy team, the sources said the water inside the mines has high Sulphur content which can decompose the bodies very fast.
At least 31 people were killed and 27 critically injured when a Tripura-bound bus fell into a deep gorge in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district in the early hours on Wednesday.
At least 22 people were killed and several others critically injured when a Tripura-bound bus fell into a deep gorge in Meghalaya's East Jaintia hills district in the wee hours of Wednesday.
The 36 villages cover a 36.9 sq km area, while the 30 villages are spread over 18 sq km area, he said.
A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer asked the Meghalaya government as to why it was not successful in rescuing these people.
The government also increased the power of the FIPB.
The 15-member team, equipped with specialised diving equipment including a re-compression chamber and remotely operated vehicles capable of searching underwater, went straightway to the mine site in the remote Lumthari village in East Jaintia Hills district.
"The fourth body was found at 230ft in general area where the third body was found. It is located about 20 feet away from the pulley cart used to transport the dug-out coal," operation spokesperson R Susngi said.
An Indian Air Force transport carrier 'C-130J Super Hercules' with 20 Odisha Fire Services personnel onboard will provide help to the authorities in the East Jaintia Hills.
The PIL filed by Aditya N Prasad also sought a direction to the Centre and other authorities concerned to prepare a standard operating procedure for rescue operations in mining.
Just two days after recording 811.6 mm of rainfall in a day, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya received a bountiful 972 mm of precipitation in 24 hours ending 8.30 am on Friday, the highest in June since 1995 and the third highest in 122 years, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
Four persons, including a forest guard, were killed in violence at the Assam-Meghalaya border in West Karbi Anglong district in the early hours of Tuesday after a truck transporting illegal timber was intercepted, officials said.
Pump manufacturing company Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and Coal India on Friday are jointly moving 18 high-powered pumps to the mine, officials said.
The body of the trapped miner was spotted on January 16 and efforts were on to pull it out of the shaft of the coal mine filled with water.
Over 100 personnel of the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force, along with police teams, are waiting for the water level to subside to begin rescue operations, the official said.
Efforts to retrieve the body would continue on Wednesday.
The depth of water from the surface till the bottom of the pit is expected to be over 150 feet, Navy officials said.
A high-powered submersible pump from Coal India Ltd will be put into operation on Thursday.
Rigorous pumping of water from the nearby abandoned mines is expected to begin on Friday.
The Congress chief accused Modi of instead posing for cameras and strutting on the Bogibeel bridge on the mighty Brahmaputra river in neighbouring Assam after inaugurating it on Tuesday.
The committees headed by a cabinet minister will have bureaucrats and maybe a local representative as members and they will visit the disputed sites, interact with the civil society members and complete the discussions within 30 days, Sarma said.
The miners are now feared dead as water from a nearby river has been gushing into the 370-feet-deep pit.
Five persons were killed on Tuesday in two separate incidents of landslips triggered by incessant rains in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district.
At least 15 miners were trapped in the 370 foot-deep illegal coal mine in Lumthari village of East Jaintia Hills district since December 13 and all efforts to pump the water out of flooded mine have been in vain.
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