Two men from Assam were arrested in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district after 30,000 detonators were allegedly found in their car.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The human cost of rat-hole mining falls disproportionately on migrant labourers.
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.
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.
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.
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 body has been detected inside the 370-foot-deep coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district,
Raja and his wife Sonam disappeared on May 23 hours after they checked out of a homestay at Nongriat village, 20 km from where his body was found, they said.
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.
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.
The government also increased the power of the FIPB.
National Disaster Response Force personnel on Tuesday joined the search for a missing tourist from Indore a day after her husband's body was found in a gorge in Sohra area of Meghalaya's East Khasi Hills district, police 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.
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.
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 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.
Post-poll violence that erupted in at least three assembly constituencies in Meghalaya left several people injured, while one person was found dead in a mysterious circumstance, officials said on Friday.
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 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.
Vlogger Gaurav Taneja shares some of his most interesting discoveries and learnings from his recent trip to Meghalaya.
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.
Pump manufacturing company Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and Coal India on Friday are jointly moving 18 high-powered pumps to the mine, officials said.
Five persons were killed on Tuesday in two separate incidents of landslips triggered by incessant rains in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district.
The 36 villages cover a 36.9 sq km area, while the 30 villages are spread over 18 sq km area, he 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.
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.
Nagaland Chief Electoral Officer Abhijit Sinha said the violence in Akuluto constituency in Zunheboto district left one dead and two injured.
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.
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