Overview
- Four bodies have been recovered from the flooded rat-hole coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district, with five miners still unaccounted for.
- The mine, abandoned 12 years ago, was illegally reopened, leading to the January 6 flooding incident that trapped nine workers.
- Rescue operations involve multiple agencies, including the Indian Army, Navy, and National Disaster Response Force, but efforts are hampered by murky water and complex tunnel networks.
- Authorities have arrested two individuals, including the mine operator and a supervisor, as investigations into the illegal mining activity continue.
- Specialized pumps from Coal India have been deployed to drain the mine, with water levels steadily decreasing, but challenges remain in locating the missing miners.