The district police have released the list of names of the 15 Meghalaya coal miners trapped in a rat-hole mine in East Jaintia Hills.
New Delhi: The fate of at least 15 Meghalaya miners remains unknown as rescue teams from the Indian Navy and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) battle time and nature in their search for them.
The miners have been trapped since 13 December after waters from the Lytien river flooded the main coal pit leaving them with no way out.
This has also complicated efforts to locate where the men are inside the rat-hole mine, located in the state’s remote East Jaintia Hills.
On Monday, Indian Navy divers went inside the 370-foot-deep pit and found some wooden structures and coal lying at the bottom.
“The Indian Navy has told the district administration that the search will be feasible only when the level of the water inside the mine comes down,” R. Susngi, deputy public relations officer in the Meghalaya government, told ThePrint from Shillong.
Also read: 15 feared dead in coal mine: Come to Meghalaya to see just how ineffective NGT ban can be
As families wait for news on the miners, the East Jaintia Hills district police have released the list of names of the men trapped.
1. Omor Ali, S/o Omela Bibi, R/o. Magurmari, West Garo Hills
2. Mezamur Islam, S/o Josur Ali Islam R/o. Phesiakandi, Rajabala, WGH
3. Mominul Islam, S/o Abul Islam, R/o. Rajabala, West Garo Hills district
4. Amir Hussain, R/o. Apdaguri, Chirang district, Assam
5. Munirul Islam, S/o Solibar Islam, R/o. Bogidar, Chirang district, Assam
6. Saiar Islam, R/o. Khoyarsala, Chirang district, Assam
7. Shirapat Ali, S/o Azahar Ali, R/o Magurmari, West Garo Hills district
8. Mozid Sk, S/o. Mahammad Ali, R/o Magurmari, West Garo Hills district
9. Raziul Islam, S/o Shohor Ali, R/o Magurmari, Phulbari, West Garo Hills district
10. Md. Samsul Haque, S/o Md. Nabaruddin, R/o Kurihamari, PS-Bhangnamari, Nalbari, Assam
11. Chal Dkhar, S/o Smt. Rita Dkhar, R/o Lumthari, East Jaintia Hills
12. Iong Dkhar, S/o Smt. Just Dkhar, R/o Lumthari, East Jaiñtia Hills district
13. Nilam Dkhar, S/o Smt. Just Dkhar, R/o Lumthari, East Jaiñtia Hills district
14. Abdul Kalam SK Abdul S/o Bodiot Zaman, R/o Magurmari, West Garo Hills district
15. Assh Bahadur Limbu, S/o Ram Prasad Limbu, 9th Mile, Nepali Basti, PO/PS Manja, Karbi Anglong district, Assam
Also read: No one is bothered because we are poor, say families of trapped Meghalaya miners
Instead of mobilizing yourself on the list of the best intellectuals and playing tennis on this list, this is a subject on which your editorialists and other journalists should have been totally involved. Yes you covered this topic. But it’s a shame because we do not feel that this tragedy that affects several families, has caught the attention of society. The authorities have been slow to react. Very slow. But the press as a whole does not seem to have listened to what is going on in a mine where people have lost their lives. For money perhaps, but also to make sense of their life and that of their loved one? For starters we would have liked a map to locate the place of the drama. This would have been useful your readers and help to develop the feeling of solidarity that we must have !!