GUWAHATI: Two more bodies were recovered on Saturday rising the death toll in the Meghalaya rat-hole coal mine blast to 27.
Officials said the bodies were retrieved during rescue operations carried out by multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force.
Several other workers are feared trapped inside the illegal mine located at Mynsyngat, Thangsko area under the Umpleng police outpost in East Jaintia Hills district.
Nine injured people are undergoing treatment.
Until Friday, 17 bodies were identified. The victims were from Meghalaya, Assam and Nepal.
Several Meghalaya organisations slammed the State government for failing to stop illegal coal mining.
The Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO) petitioned Governor CH Vijayashankar, demanding a probe by a central agency and fixing of responsibility at the political level.
The organisation said the incident was a clear case of systemic governance failure, as illegal coal mining continued to thrive in East Jaintia Hills despite court bans.
“The responsibility lies with the political leadership that has normalised illegality,” HITO said. It raised concerns over the victims’ identity, suspecting that a few were Bangladeshi nationals.
Meanwhile, the Congress also demanded that responsibility be fixed at the highest political and administrative levels. It further demanded strict and time-bound enforcement of the ban on rat-hole mining and adequate compensation to the victims’ families.
The National Green Tribunal had in 2014 imposed a ban on rat-hole mining of coal and its transportation in Meghalaya, concerned over rampant, unregulated and unsafe mining practices.
Despite the ban, the illegal activities continued.
There have been several incidents of coal mine mishaps in the past in Meghalaya, which is endowed with the finest qualities of coal.
High daily wages, which could go up to Rs 2,000, draw a lot of people, especially from Assam, to the Meghalaya mines.