5 days after mine mishap, 2 bodies recovered

Five days after 14 workers got trapped inside the Central Coalfields Ltd’s (CCL) Saunda mine here, two bodies were recovered today by t...

Five days after 14 workers got trapped inside the Central Coalfields Ltd’s (CCL) Saunda mine here, two bodies were recovered today by their colleagues.

There are no signs of survivors and more bodies are expected to be recovered soon, said local police. The workers got trapped on June 14 when a section’s roof—supporting a water body—caved in.

‘‘One body has been identified, while the other is being verified,’’ Hazaribagh Addl SP Upendra Kumar told The Indian Express.

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The bodies were recovered after the Indian Navy’s divers emerged empty-handed yesterday from a rescue operation even as top brass of the CCL and the Director-General of Mines Safety (DGMS) looked on.

CCL personnel then installed a high-power electric pump to clear the mine, said officials. ‘‘After the mine was de-watered this afternoon, CCL workers walked in and located two bodies drenched in black mud, ’’ said DGMS’s Ranchi director Nageshwar Rao.