Indian army divers retrieve the body of one of at least 9 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine

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Indian army divers retrieve the body of one of at least 9 miners trapped in a flooded coal mine

2025-01-08 13:51 Last Updated At：14:11

GUWAHATI, India (AP) — Indian army divers retrieved the body of one of at least nine miners trapped inside a flooded coal mine in India’s northeastern Assam state, officials said Wednesday.

The miners became trapped on Monday when water gushed in from a nearby unused mine in the Umrangso area in Dima Hasao district, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south of the state capital, Guwahati.

“Army deep divers have found and retrieved one body from the flooded mine. The divers will go into the mine again to continue their search operations,” said Kaushik Rai, a local government minister who is monitoring the rescue efforts.

Nearly 100 rescuers from the police, navy, army and the National Disaster Response Force are battling adverse conditions and taking turns searching inside the 300-foot (90 meter) -deep mine.

Braving the winter chill in the Barail mountain range, the divers are lowered into the narrow mine by cranes to search its dark flooded interior.

The navy is also sending in remotely operated vehicles to examine the mine.

“High suction pumps are being flown into the site by Indian Air Force helicopters to aid in pumping out the water from the mine,” Rai said.

On Tuesday, rescuers found three helmets, some slippers and a few other items. The water in the mine is estimated to be 100 feet (30 meters) deep.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on the social media platform X that the mine appeared to be illegal and that police had arrested one person as they investigate the case.

Workers at the site said over a dozen miners had been trapped inside the mine, which has minimum safety measures, and some managed to escape as water from the nearby unused mine began pouring in.

In India’s east and northeast, workers extract coal in hazardous conditions from small “rat hole” mines that are narrow pits in the ground, usually meant for one person to go down, and are common in hilly areas. The coal is usually placed in boxes that are hoisted to the surface with pulleys. In some cases, miners carry coal in baskets up on wooden slats flanking the walls of the mines.

Accidents in illegal mines are frequent and the livelihoods of those who do such mining depend on the illegal sale of coal. At least 15 miners were killed after getting trapped in one such mine in Meghalaya state in 2019.

What to know about the severe storms and flash flooding hitting parts of the US

2025-04-05 06:13 Last Updated At：06:21

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Parts of the South and Midwest, still reeling from violent storms, tornadoes and flooding that have killed at least eight people this week, faced an ongoing threat of catastrophic flooding Friday that forecasters said would stretch into the weekend.

Severe thunderstorms threatened a swath of the country with a population of 2.3 million people from northeast Texas through Arkansas and into southeast Missouri.

In Kentucky, continued storms inundated roads and a mudslide blocked a busy highway on the outskirts of Louisville. A 9-year-old boy was killed, swept away as he walked to a school bus stop.

The downtown area of Hopkinsville, Kentucky — a city of 31,000 residents 72 miles (116 kilometers) northwest of Nashville, Tennessee — was submerged.

The first wave of storms killed at least five people in Tennessee and one each in Missouri and Indiana on Wednesday and Thursday.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called the devastation in his state “enormous” and said it was too early to know whether there were more deaths as searches continued.

There was massive destruction in Lake City in eastern Arkansas, where homes were flattened and cars were flipped and tossed into trees.

At least 318 tornado warnings have been issued by the National Weather Service since this week's tornado outbreak began early Wednesday, and that was likely to grow. It has already eclipsed the 300 tornado warnings issued during last month’s deadly outbreak in Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri and other states.

Not all tornado warnings involve an actual tornado, and it was too early to know how many were actually produced by the current outbreak.

The severe weather hit at a time when nearly half the National Weather Service's forecast offices have 20% vacancy rates — twice that of a decade ago — according to data obtained by The Associated Press.

Forecasters attributed the violent weather to warm temperatures, an unstable atmosphere, strong wind shear and abundant moisture streaming from the Gulf.

The prolonged deluge, which could dump more than a foot (30 centimeters) of rain over a four-day period, “is an event that happens once in a generation to once in a lifetime,” the National Weather Service said.

Private forecasting company AccuWeather said northeastern Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois, western Kentucky and northwestern Tennessee needed to prepare for a catastrophic risk from flash flooding.

“This is a rare and dangerous atmospheric setup,” said Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather chief meteorologist.

Forecasters have also warned of major disruptions to shipping and supply chains. Shipping giant FedEx, for example, has a massive facility in the danger area, in Memphis Tennessee. Barge transportation on the lower Mississippi River could also be affected.

Water rescue teams and sandbags were being set up across the region in anticipation of flooding, and authorities warned people to take the threat of rising water seriously.

“We need everyone to understand that all water poses risk right now and to take every precaution," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said.

Associated Press writers George Walker IV in Selmer, Tennessee; John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio; Jeff Martin in Atlanta; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, Seth Borenstein in Washington; and Bruce Schreiner in Shelbyville, Kentucky, contributed.