ABC
Thirteen young miners were missing and feared dead following the collapse of a shaft and flooding of a coal mine they were illegally digging in India’s remote northeast, police said on Friday. Efforts were being made to pump out water from the mine in Meghalaya state, which was flooded on Wednesday, police said. The National Disaster Response Force workers joined local authorities in rescue efforts.
Police said that digging in the mine was banned four years ago, but illegal and unsafe activity by private landowners and the local community was rife. The area is nearly 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Shillong, the state capital.
Police said rescuers would be able to reach those missing only after the water has been pumped out of the mine.
Those missing are believed to be teenage boys used by illegal miners to reach so-called “rat hole” mines with small openings to take out coal.
Demand for coal has increased in energy-hungry India. Operations by illegal mining syndicates have led to accidents.
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