8 labourers still trapped in Assam's flooded mine even after 3 days of rescue ops

Even after three days of the rescue operation, eight labourers are still trapped inside the 'rat-hole' mine and the body of the ninth has been recovered.

The water that gushed into the 3 Kilo Coal Quarry in the Dima Hasao district's Umrangso, rescuers said, is now acidic and murky as it has been mixed with coal reducing visibility, which is hampering the rescue operations.

The divers from the rescue teams, they said, had to risk their lives to pull out the body that they did on Wednesday.

The murky water, an official said, is making it difficult even to use remote-operated vehicles.

The mine is 310 feet deep and several pumps have been deployed to get the water out.

On Wednesday, an expert team from the Western Coalfields Limited, considered among the best for such rescue operations, was also flown in with a huge submersible pump.

"A five-member team was flown to the accident site in a C-130 Hercules plane on January 8. The team is equipped with a massive submersible pump that can pump out 500 gallons of water per minute at a height of 150 metres, complex cable network, starters and other equipment to help in the rescue operations," Western Coalfields said in a statement.

Despite all this, the water level in the main shaft is still at nearly 100 feet, making the rescue operation more complicated.