A team of Navy, Army, National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Force personnel intensified their efforts to rescue the nine workers, trapped inside a mine in the Assam Coal Quarry in Dima Hasao for the second day on Tuesday.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the mine "appears to be illegal", and that the police have arrested one person in connection with the incident.
Meanwhile, Dima Hasao SP Mayank Kumar Jha denied some media reports that claimed three of the trapped workers were feared dead .
He said no bodies have yet been found and operations were underway to rescue the miners.
The labourers were on Monday trapped inside the coal mine situated in the 3 Kilo area of Umrangso, after a sudden gush of water flooded the site. According to employees of the quarry, there were around 15 workers inside the mine, though the authorities did not confirm the number.
Sarma said he has spoken to Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, who has assured him that a team from Coal India will join the rescue operations from Wednesday.
He said navy divers have been requisitioned to assist local authorities in rescuing the labourers, as the water level inside the quarry has risen to nearly 100 feet.
The divers flew in from Visakhapatnam and conducted a recce, before entering the quarry.
The divers reached the surface, but could not find any person or bodies except for a few shoes and sandals.
It is, therefore, presumed that the labourers could have entered the tunnels inside the quarry, the CM said.
Special director general of police Harmeet Singh, who is supervising the rescue operations at the site, told reporters that specialised divers from the Navy, Army, NDRF and SDRF are alternately going inside the quarry to conduct rescue operations, but no one has been spotted so far.
"The navy personnel have deep diving equipment with them and we have requisitioned more equipment to help in the operations," Singh said.
"The quarry is about 340 feet deep and we are primarily concentrating on rescuing the workers on the directions of the chief minister, who is personally monitoring the entire operation," he said.
The joint rescue efforts will continue throughout the night along with the dewatering of the mine, Singh said.
Sarma had earlier in the day said a person has been arrested after the workers were trapped inside the coal mine, which "appears to be illegal".
He also said a case was registered in connection with the incident. 'The police have registered an FIR under Umrangso PS Case No: 02/2025, citing Sections 3(5)/105 BNS, r/w Section 21(1) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, to investigate the incident. Prima facie, it appears to be an illegal mine.
"One Punish Nunisa has been arrested in connection with the case," the chief minister had posted on X. Rescue operations have been continuing since Monday, but no worker has been brought out of the quarry so far, a district official said.
From the NDRF, a 35-member team, led by Commandant HPS Kandari, is conducting rescue operations at the site, he said.
Army personnel have been engaged to rescue the labourers and a relief task force comprising specialists such as divers and sappers, equipped with essential tools, reached the site in Umrangso, a defence spokesperson said.
The rescue task force of the Army and Assam Rifles, comprising divers and engineers, have made two diving attempts inside the mine, he said. Engineers of the Indian Army are currently assisting the civil administration in removing water from the mine, and have also made provision of adequate lighting to illuminate the site enabling continuance of operations at night, the spokesperson added.
Sarma thanked the Army for extending their help in the rescue operations.
"Much gratitude for this quick response. We are deploying all possible efforts to ensure the safe return of our miners," he said.
The chief minister also listed the names of the trapped labourers Ganga Bahadur Shreth, Hussain Ali, Jakir Hussain, Sarpa Barman, Mustafa Seikh, Khushi Mohan Rai, Sanjit Sarkar, Lijan Magar and Sarat Goyary.
Eyewitness accounts and initial assessments suggest that the flooding occurred unexpectedly, leaving the workers unable to escape from the mine.
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