As operation to rescue <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/meghalaya-miners-rescue-indian-navy-divers-arrive-at-site-join-operations-187204">15 trapped miners</a> continue at the 370-foot-deep illegal coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district, a survivor of the December 13 accident said Saturday there is no way the trapped miners will come out alive.

Sahib Ali, hailing from Assam's Chirang district, is one of the five men who narrowly escaped the flooding coal mine a fortnight ago.

He said four others who made it alive had fled to their homes in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.

"There were 22 of us who went in that day. I had worked for two weeks. Many are diggers who went to the farthest part of the mine. Some are cart pullers like me and we all work in a synchronised manner in small holes that barely fit a big man," Ali told PTI over phone Saturday.

He said four of those who escaped were the men who were tasked with loading coal into the metal box.

Recounting the December 13 nightmare, Ali said," all men started work early at about 5 am. By about 7 am, the entire mine was full of water."

"I was about 5 to 6 feet inside the mine pulling a cart full of coal. For some unknown reasons, I could feel a breeze inside the mine which was unusual. What followed was big sound of water gushing in. I barely made it to the opening of the pit," Ali said.

"There is no way the trapped men will be alive. How long can a person hold his breath underwater?" he added.

Going by Ali's story, at least 17 people are still trapped inside the illegal coal pit as only five narrowly escaped the flooding mine out of the 22 men who went in.

"My only hope is to see that their bodies pulled out and last rites be carried out as per traditions," a sobbing Ali said.

On December 13, he spent the entire day at the flooded mine and slept in a nearby active coal mine in the night, he said.

The ill-fated mine is roughly 370 feet and as of December 29, the rescue officials have calculated that about 170 feet is full of water, an NDRF official said.

In Lumthari village where Ali and his fellow miners went to work, coal is found roughly between 200-500 feet underneath the ground.

Asked on what prompted him to go and work in the dangerous coal mines of Meghalaya, Ali said the mines promised a big amount of money at the end of the week.

"I earn between Rs 800-1500 on a full day of work at the mine. I had in mind that I will work for sometime only and return home," he said.

Family members of at least 7 trapped miners, hailing from West Garo Hills district of the state, have already given up hope to rescue their kins alive and requested the government to retrieve the bodies for the last rites.

Shohor Ali who hails from Magurmari village in West Garo Hills district and whose son, brother and son-in-law were among the victims at Lumthari village, told PTI, "We have lost all hope to see them alive. I just wanted the authorities to help retrieve the dead bodies for their last rites."

The three were allegedly lured to the coal mines at Lumthari as it involves bigger wages and on an average each miner gets paid Rs 2000 per day, he said.

Kins of four other victims also did not sound optimistic of seeing their dear ones alive.

Shohar Ali was among the first people who came to know of the accident when he received a call within minutes when the mine was flooded.

One of the 5 persons who narrowly escaped the flooded mine called him up to inform of the accident.

Ali, in turn, called up his MLA (Rajabala constituency) Azad Aman to find out about the accident and who later called up the SP of the district to verify.

It took the police several hours before finally locating the place where the accident took place, the MLA said.

In all, 7 persons from Rajabala in West Garo Hills district, 3 from Lumthari village itself, and the other 5 from Assam have been confirmed to have been trapped inside the ill-fated mine.

The state government had announced a Rs 1 lakh interim relief on December 22 to the family members of each of the 15 miners trapped and feared dead, 10 days after the accident took place.

As operation to rescue 15 trapped miners continue at the 370-foot-deep illegal coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district, a survivor of the December 13 accident said Saturday there is no way the trapped miners will come out alive.

As operation to rescue 15 trapped miners continue at the 370-foot-deep illegal coal mine in East Jaintia Hills district, a survivor of the December 13 accident said Saturday there is no way the trapped miners will come out alive. Sahib Ali, hailing from Assam's Chirang district, is one of the five men who narrowly escaped the flooding coal mine a fortnight ago. He said four others who made it alive had fled to their homes in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. "There were 22 of us who went in that day. I had worked for two weeks. Many are diggers who went to the farthest part of the mine. Some are cart pullers like me and we all work in a synchronised manner in small holes that barely fit a big man," Ali told PTI over phone Saturday. He said four of those who escaped were the men who were tasked with loading coal into the metal box. Recounting the December 13 nightmare, Ali said," all men started work early at about 5 am. By about 7 am, the entire mine was full of water." "I was about 5 to 6 feet inside the mine pulling a cart full of coal. For some unknown reasons, I could feel a breeze inside the mine which was unusual. What followed was big sound of water gushing in. I barely made it to the opening of the pit," Ali said. "There is no way the trapped men will be alive. How long can a person hold his breath underwater?" he added. Going by Ali's story, at least 17 people are still trapped inside the illegal coal pit as only five narrowly escaped the flooding mine out of the 22 men who went in. "My only hope is to see that their bodies pulled out and last rites be carried out as per traditions," a sobbing Ali said. On December 13, he spent the entire day at the flooded mine and slept in a nearby active coal mine in the night, he said. The ill-fated mine is roughly 370 feet and as of December 29, the rescue officials have calculated that about 170 feet is full of water, an NDRF official said. In Lumthari village where Ali and his fellow miners went to work, coal is found roughly between 200-500 feet underneath the ground. Asked on what prompted him to go and work in the dangerous coal mines of Meghalaya, Ali said the mines promised a big amount of money at the end of the week. "I earn between Rs 800-1500 on a full day of work at the mine. I had in mind that I will work for sometime only and return home," he said. Family members of at least 7 trapped miners, hailing from West Garo Hills district of the state, have already given up hope to rescue their kins alive and requested the government to retrieve the bodies for the last rites. Shohor Ali who hails from Magurmari village in West Garo Hills district and whose son, brother and son-in-law were among the victims at Lumthari village, told PTI, "We have lost all hope to see them alive. I just wanted the authorities to help retrieve the dead bodies for their last rites." The three were allegedly lured to the coal mines at Lumthari as it involves bigger wages and on an average each miner gets paid Rs 2000 per day, he said. Kins of four other victims also did not sound optimistic of seeing their dear ones alive. Shohar Ali was among the first people who came to know of the accident when he received a call within minutes when the mine was flooded. One of the 5 persons who narrowly escaped the flooded mine called him up to inform of the accident. Ali, in turn, called up his MLA (Rajabala constituency) Azad Aman to find out about the accident and who later called up the SP of the district to verify. It took the police several hours before finally locating the place where the accident took place, the MLA said. In all, 7 persons from Rajabala in West Garo Hills district, 3 from Lumthari village itself, and the other 5 from Assam have been confirmed to have been trapped inside the ill-fated mine. The state government had announced a Rs 1 lakh interim relief on December 22 to the family members of each of the 15 miners trapped and feared dead, 10 days after the accident took place.

Meghalaya: Trapped miners won't come out alive, says survivor who escaped on Dec 13

Pump manufacturing company Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and Coal India on Friday are jointly moving 18 high-powered pumps to a remote coal mine here where 15 diggers have been trapped since its flooding a fortnight ago, officials said.

The Indian Air Force joined the rescue operation and airlifted 10 pumps from Bhubaneswar. Its personnel have landed in Guwahati, 270 kilometres away from the 370-foot-deep illegal coal mine, they said.

Two surveyors from Kirloskar Brothers Ltd arrived at the site Thursday night from Pune and 10 pumps of the company are on the way to Shillong, East Jaintia Hills district Superintendent of Police Sylvester Nongtynger told PTI.

General Manager of North Eastern Coalfields J Bora arrived with two officers of the company in the afternoon and they were followed by a 10-member team of experts of the Coal India (CIL) to the site to begin the assesment of the situation, he said.

The illegal rat-hole coal mine is located at Lumthari village near Khliehriat, the headquarters of East Jaintia Hills district. It got flooded when water from nearby Lytein river gushed into it on December 13, trapping the 15 diggers.

Bora said CIL has mobilised eight high-powered pumps from its establishments across the country and the pumps will be transported to the site by road.

The farthest place from where a pump has been mobilised is Bilaspur in Chhatisgarh and the truck carrying it will take three to four days to arrive, Bora said.

The CIL team, he said, will conduct all necessary exercises prior to the arrival of the pumps and it will take about eight hours to complete the fitting of each pump before it can be put into operation.

"We are waiting for the initial 10 high-powered pumps. They will be brought here in the evening today," the SP said.

The high-powered pumps will be transported in trailers from Guwahati till about two kilometres from the accident site. From there vehicles have been requisitioned to carry them to the mine, a senior district official said.

Meanwhile, a 20-member team of the Odisha Fire Services Friday left for Shillong with equipment, including high-powered pumps, high-tech equipment and gadgets to assist the local administration in the search and rescue operation, a report from Bhubaneswar said.

Pumping of water from the mine was suspended on Saturday last as there was no visible receding of the water level in it. The district authorities had written to the state government seeking high-powered pumps as the two 25 hp pumps, which were being used, were found to be inadequate, an official of the NDRF, which is involved in the rescue operation, said.

Kirloskar Brothers had volunteered to provide equipment to drain out the water from the mine to facilitate resumption of the halted search and rescue operation in the rat-hole coal pit.

Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the national capital Thursday over the coal mine issue.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi had on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the incident.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had on Thursday contradicted media reports which quoted it as saying the trapped minors were suspected dead on the basis of the foul odour the force's divers had smelt when they had gone inside the mine.

It said in a statement that the foul smell could be due to the stagnant water in the mine as pumping had been halted for more than 48 hours.

Two NDRF teams are engaged in the search and rescue operation.

Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually 3-4 feet high, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed "rat-holes" as each just about fits one person.&nbsp;

Pump manufacturing company Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and Coal India on Friday are jointly moving 18 high-powered pumps to a remote coal mine here where 15 diggers have been trapped since its flooding a fortnight ago, officials said.

Pump manufacturing company Kirloskar Brothers Ltd and Coal India on Friday are jointly moving 18 high-powered pumps to a remote coal mine here where 15 diggers have been trapped since its flooding a fortnight ago, officials said. The Indian Air Force joined the rescue operation and airlifted 10 pumps from Bhubaneswar. Its personnel have landed in Guwahati, 270 kilometres away from the 370-foot-deep illegal coal mine, they said. Two surveyors from Kirloskar Brothers Ltd arrived at the site Thursday night from Pune and 10 pumps of the company are on the way to Shillong, East Jaintia Hills district Superintendent of Police Sylvester Nongtynger told PTI. General Manager of North Eastern Coalfields J Bora arrived with two officers of the company in the afternoon and they were followed by a 10-member team of experts of the Coal India (CIL) to the site to begin the assesment of the situation, he said. The illegal rat-hole coal mine is located at Lumthari village near Khliehriat, the headquarters of East Jaintia Hills district. It got flooded when water from nearby Lytein river gushed into it on December 13, trapping the 15 diggers. Bora said CIL has mobilised eight high-powered pumps from its establishments across the country and the pumps will be transported to the site by road. The farthest place from where a pump has been mobilised is Bilaspur in Chhatisgarh and the truck carrying it will take three to four days to arrive, Bora said. The CIL team, he said, will conduct all necessary exercises prior to the arrival of the pumps and it will take about eight hours to complete the fitting of each pump before it can be put into operation. "We are waiting for the initial 10 high-powered pumps. They will be brought here in the evening today," the SP said. The high-powered pumps will be transported in trailers from Guwahati till about two kilometres from the accident site. From there vehicles have been requisitioned to carry them to the mine, a senior district official said. Meanwhile, a 20-member team of the Odisha Fire Services Friday left for Shillong with equipment, including high-powered pumps, high-tech equipment and gadgets to assist the local administration in the search and rescue operation, a report from Bhubaneswar said. Pumping of water from the mine was suspended on Saturday last as there was no visible receding of the water level in it. The district authorities had written to the state government seeking high-powered pumps as the two 25 hp pumps, which were being used, were found to be inadequate, an official of the NDRF, which is involved in the rescue operation, said. Kirloskar Brothers had volunteered to provide equipment to drain out the water from the mine to facilitate resumption of the halted search and rescue operation in the rat-hole coal pit. Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in the national capital Thursday over the coal mine issue. Congress president Rahul Gandhi had on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the incident. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had on Thursday contradicted media reports which quoted it as saying the trapped minors were suspected dead on the basis of the foul odour the force's divers had smelt when they had gone inside the mine. It said in a statement that the foul smell could be due to the stagnant water in the mine as pumping had been halted for more than 48 hours. Two NDRF teams are engaged in the search and rescue operation. Rat-hole mining involves digging of narrow tunnels, usually 3-4 feet high, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed "rat-holes" as each just about fits one person.

18 high-powered pumps being moved to Meghalaya mining site

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Meghalaya: Trapped miners won't come out alive, says survivor who escaped on Dec 13

18 high-powered pumps being moved to Meghalaya mining site