Sun Jan 12 06:34:53 UTC 2025: ## Assam Coal Mine Disaster: Four Dead, Five Still Missing
**GUWAHATI, ASSAM –** Rescue efforts continued for a seventh day on Sunday, January 12, 2025, at a flooded coal mine in Dima Hasao district, Assam, following a tragic accident on January 6th. Four bodies have been recovered so far, leaving five workers still unaccounted for.
Nine workers were trapped when a sudden rush of water inundated the abandoned Umrangsu mine, located approximately 250 km from Guwahati. The first body was recovered on Wednesday, followed by three more on Saturday.
State Mines and Minerals Minister Kaushik Rai stated that the dewatering process is nearing completion, with the final stage expected within 36 hours. Twelve pumps are actively engaged in removing water from the mine shafts. NDRF team commander Roshan Kumar Singh confirmed the receding water levels and ongoing rescue operations. Multiple agencies, including the NDRF, SDRF, army, and navy, are involved, utilizing drones to map the area.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma clarified that the mine was abandoned twelve years ago, having been under the Assam Mineral Development Corporation until three years prior. While acknowledging it wasn’t an illegal operation, he noted that the trapped workers had entered the mine that day for the first time to extract coal. The workers’ leader has been arrested, and police investigations are underway.
First Piper 