CM says govt orders comprehensive inquiry, vows accountability
\n New Delhi
\nAt least 18 people died on Thursday after an explosion ripped through an illegal coal mine in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya, officials said.
\n\u201cDuring the course of the rescue operation, a total of 18 dead bodies have been recovered from the site of the explosion,\u201d local police said in a statement.
\nEight other people were injured, said Manish Kumar, top official in East Jaintia Hills district, where the explosion happened.
\nRescuers were digging through the rubble at the site to find out if more miners were trapped inside but the operations halted at sundown.
\nKumar said it was an \u201cillegal rat-hole mine\u201d and that authorities were awaiting personnel from state and federal disaster management agencies to resume the search on Friday morning.
\nRat-hole mines are deep vertical shafts dug mostly into hillsides that branch out into narrow tunnels to reach and retrieve coal and other minerals.
\nA federal environment court banned rat-hole mining in Meghalaya in 2014 after local communities complained it was polluting water sources and putting lives at risk.
\nBut it\u2019s still widely practised across the state, especially in the East Jaintia Hills.
\nDistrict police chief Vikash Kumar told AFP that the explosion was likely due to a dynamite blast but added that further forensic investigation was underway.
\n\u201cAfter the explosion, a fire happened. Lots of toxic gas has accumulated,\u201d Vikash Kumar said.
\n\u201cA dynamite explosion had occurred at an illegal coal mine in East Jaintia Hills. This happened today at around 11am. As per the current reports, about 18 people are dead because of this blast,\u201d Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma told reporters.
\nHe said one person was injured and has been taken to a hospital, and authorities, including police, are present at the site.
\nSangma wrote on X that the government has ordered a \u201ccomprehensive inquiry\u201d into the accident.
\n\u201cAccountability will be fixed, and those responsible will face strict legal action. There will be no compromise when it comes to the safety of lives,\u201d he said.
\nPrime Minister Narendra Modi said he was \u201cpained by the mishap\u201d.
\n\u201cCondolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest,\u201d he said in a statement on social media.
\nThe families of the deceased would receive 200,000 Indian rupees ($2,216) compensation, the statement said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CM says govt orders comprehensive inquiry, vows accountability New Delhi At least 18 people died on Thursday after an explosion ripped through an illegal coal mine in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya, officials said. \u201cDuring the course of the rescue operation, a total of 18 dead bodies have been recovered from the site of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-529908","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n