Search and rescue teams and Indian Navy divers had to temporarily halt work at Krem Ule, Umpleng, today after repairs had to be made to the crane being used in the operations, officials said.
While operations will resume soon, it was informed that the joint operation team were able to pump out a total of 2.88 lakh litres of water from the main shaft and about 8.10 lakh litres from the second shaft.
On Wednesday the body of one of the missing miners was retrieved by the joint team of the Indian Navy, National Disaster Rescue Force and State Disaster Rescue Force. However, till date no one has come forward to claim the body, officials said.
Earlier, Navy divers had spotted two bodies. At least five miners are feared dead after an explosion of dynamite sent waters rushing into rat-hole mine in East Jaintia Hills on May 30.
Currently, over 50 personnel from the NDRF, SDRF, District Disaster Response Force, Fire and Emergency Service and the police have been deployed at the site and the Naval divers trained to dive to such depths are carrying out the critical task of searching and retrieving the trapped miners.
Even with incessant rains, low visibility and numerous obstacles, the Navy divers assiduously continue with the search operation with the hope that any light at the end of the tunnel will bring lasting solace and closure to the families.
While the divers have specialised equipment, such as the Diver Hand Held Navigation System (DHNS) for bottom-mapping of the mine-shaft, technology can do little to ameliorate the raw, gut-wrenching adversity that such an operation entails.
The current operation has necessitated the Navy divers to lower themselves and their specialised gear into an extremely narrow shaft to a depth of 400 feet and carry out diving down a further 100 feet to search for trapped miners within a complicated interconnecting labyrinth of horizontal shafts, with barely enough space for a person to crawl.
Diving operations have been made more challenging by poor underwater visibility, unmapped shaft construction hazards, flotsam and falling debris. Further, diving for prolonged durations in low temperatures of around 5 degrees Celsius pose significant medical risks, such as hypothermia.
The Navy has had prior experience of rescue and recovery operations in the district, having been roped in after the Ksan mining disaster of December 2018.
