Another coal mine tragedy in Meghalaya: 2 miners found dead
What's the story
Bodies of two miners were recovered from an illegal coal mine located at a remote village in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district, police said today. The bodies were recovered late on Saturday from the coal mine in Jalyiah village, a few kilometers away from the district headquarters of Khliehriat, they added. Police conducted a search in the village acting on a missing person's complaint.
Details
Police found body at the entrance of coal mine
The complaint was lodged by one Philip Bareh on Friday, and "Elad Bareh's body was found near the coal mine entrance," said East Jaintia Hills district SP Sylvester Nongtynger. Upon searching a little deeper, another body was found, and the deceased was identified as M Basumatary. A preliminary probe revealed that the miners had died after boulders hit them while extracting coal, Nongtynger added.
The ban
Recent cases show NGT's unsafe mining ban being openly flouted
The bodies were recovered almost a month after 15 miners were reported trapped in another illegal coal mine in Khloo-Ryngksan. The recent cases highlight that illegal coal mining continues despite NGT's 2014 ban on unsafe mining. Nongtynger said eight were arrested from different locations for allegedly violating the NGT ban, and that the police are trying to trace the owner of the mine.