Guwahati: The death toll in the illegal coal mine blast in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district rose to 30 on Tuesday, making it one of the deadliest mining accidents in the country in recent years.
The tragedy has once again drawn attention to the dangerous conditions inside illegal rat-hole mines. At the same time, the Meghalaya High Court has taken cognisance of the incident. It has also flagged the continued prevalence of illegal coal mining in the region.
Rescue teams, who called off operations on Monday evening, described the mining site at Thangsko as an underground death trap. They said the network of tunnels resembled a labyrinth, where even a small mistake could turn fatal.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a rescue official said the area looked like “a dark underworld maze”. He said the tunnels branched into several narrow passages. “Without proper lighting and safety gear, it is almost impossible to find your way out,” the official said. “The openings are barely three to four feet wide. They connect with hundreds of other rat-holes. One wrong move and a person can get lost forever.”
Officials said at least seven coal shafts were active at the site when the accident occurred. They described the layout as chaotic and unmapped. “There are no maps and no sense of direction. One hole leads to another. The air is suffocating,” an official said. “Even with advanced equipment, the rescue operation proved extremely difficult.”
According to the rescue teams, personnel recovered some bodies from nearly 400 feet inside the rat-holes. The National Disaster Rescue Force(NDRF) teams had to crawl 600 feet or more through the tunnels in complete darkness. “Our personnel crawled for hours in pitch-dark conditions,” another official said.
Coal shafts, also known as box cuts, are deep cavities that usually measure 10 to 15 feet in width and length. These shafts can go 50 to 100 feet below the surface, depending on the depth of coal seams.
Once miners locate a seam, they dig narrow horizontal tunnels to extract coal. These passages are often just wide enough for one person. This method is known as rat-hole mining.
Rescue officials said the rat-holes branch out in all directions. They warned that the seven shafts at the site may all connect underground through a complex web of tunnels that run for long distances. “It is extremely easy to lose your way inside,” one official said.
Rescue teams entered two of the shafts that miners had used on the day of the blast. Officials said the conditions inside showed how even a minor misstep could trap workers forever, with little chance of rescue.
The tragedy has renewed calls for stricter action against illegal mining in Meghalaya. It has also prompted authorities and the courts to examine the systemic failures that allowed such dangerous practices to continue unchecked.