With 15 miners stuck in a flooded "rat-hole" coal mine in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills for nearly two weeks, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma admitted on Wednesday that they had to halt operations to pump out water from the mine due to the non-availability of high-power pumps. He, however, added that the state is in the process of acquiring these high-power pumps for the rescue operations.
"The situation right now is very difficult. Almost the entire river came into the mine. 12 lakh litres of water have been pumped out but the water level is rising," Mr Sangma told NDTV.
Sources in Coal India say their experts, technicians and high-power pumps have been mobilised.
The operation needs going deep into 70-feet water. Divers of the National Disaster Response Force or NDRF can only go up to a depth of 40 feet, officials explained. And so, without the pumps to drain out water, it will be impossible to resume the rescue effort.
Water is seeping into the mine from two sources, the river nearby and another abandoned mine in the area.
There is no question of calling off the ops, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said
While two low-capacity pumps were used initially, eight more were brought in the following days. All of them were ineffectual in pumping out water. Experts say at least 10 pumps of 100 horsepower each will be required for the task.
The main opposition in the state, Congress, has attacked the chief minister and his government over what they claim is "sloppy attitude" of handling a crisis.
"We raised the issue of illegal coal mining in assembly but the chief minister had been very adamant, he did not accept it... after this incident he admitted," said Zenith Sangma, former Congress minister and party spokesperson.
"It's not the time to play politics. There is no question of calling off the operation. The operation is going to go to a different level now. The Home Ministry is in touch and helping us. We will continue trying and give more efforts," Mr Sangma said.
Mining was banned in mineral-rich Meghalaya in 2014 after people said it was polluting water bodies. But the practice continues with locals illegally extracting coal using dangerous "rat-hole" mines, which means digging into the side of hills and then burrowing horizontal tunnels to reach a coal seam.
Amit Shah Meets Meghalaya Chief Minister, Discusses Crisis In Bangladesh Houses Damaged, Over 400 People Affected As Storm Hits Meghalaya Conrad Sangma's Party To Support NDA Candidates in Nagaland, Manipur Nurse Raped, Killed On Way Home, Body Found 9 Days Later In UP "Don't Expect Anything From Me": Kolkata Hospital's New Principal Loses Cool This US City Has Been Declared America's Least Desirable, Survey Finds Ukraine, Russia Both Claim Advances In Kursk Region Gaza Ceasefire Talks Underway In Qatar As Deaths Top 40,000 Trump To Hold Press Conference, His Campaign Adds Senior Advisers Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.