According to officials, attempts to remove all water from the flooded coal mine in Assam in order to search for at least five more miners who are still missing have encountered obstacles because water from the nearby aquifer has filled the quarry, despite Saturday’s success in lowering the water level and recovering three more bodies. “We have been utilizing nine conventional pumps to dewater the mine continuously. Although the water level had initially dropped, it hasn’t done so since Saturday. According to GD Tripathi, CEO of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), “it looks like water is getting into the mine from a nearby source.”
Six additional pumps were also imported from Guwahati. Installing the remaining three is now in progress, although three of them have already been set up and are functioning. In addition to them, six other pumps are being utilized to dewater neighboring mines from which water may have entered the one where the accident occurred. Despite ongoing dewatering efforts, the quarry’s water level has risen once more since Sunday, according to an NDRF official. There were around 29 meters (95 feet) of water in the well as of 5 p.m. on Monday.
