DIBRUGARH: A landslide in an illegal rat-hole coal mine in the Patkai Hills of eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district trapped three workers on Sunday.
The incident occurred around 12:30 PM at the Tikok West Mining site, situated between Bargolai and Namdang under the Tikok colliery in Ledo.
Among those trapped are Dawa Cherpa from Bhujour, Nepal, and two workers from Meghalaya, identified as John and Fenaal.
According to sources, four coal workers were engaged in extracting illegal coal from the rat-hole mine.
“Three of them entered the mine to procure coal, while the fourth worker was assisting with transportation. Suddenly, a landslide occurred, trapping the three workers inside the mine. It is feared that they may have perished in the incident,” reported a source.
Rescue operations are currently underway to locate and retrieve the missing coal miners.