Meghalaya: East Jaintia Hills coal mine blast death toll hits 25; two arrested
Guwahati: The number of people killed in an explosion at an illegal coal mining site in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district has climbed to 25, officials confirmed on Friday, as recovery operations continued in the isolated area.
Police have also taken two individuals into custody in connection with the incident.
The explosion took place inside an unauthorised coal mine located in the Mynsyngat–Thangskai region, which falls under the Umpleng police outpost. Rescue workers found several more bodies during ongoing search efforts over the past two days.
According to the district police chief, 18 bodies were retrieved on the first day of the operation., Four additional bodies were recovered from the site on Friday. One injured worker later died while undergoing treatment at NEIGRIHMS, while two other victims were brought by their families to hospitals in Khliehriat and Jowai.
Following the incident, police registered a case on their own initiative at Khliehriat police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with laws related to mining and explosives.
Two arrests have been made so far, and authorities said the investigation is continuing to identify others linked to the illegal operation.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, and a specialised rescue unit remain deployed at the site. Senior police officials said search activities are ongoing to locate any remaining victims and complete identification without delay.
The tragedy has once again highlighted the dangers of rat-hole mining, a risky method involving narrow tunnels dug horizontally into coal seams. Despite being prohibited for over a decade, this form of mining continues in parts of Meghalaya.
Public outrage has grown following the incident, prompting the Hynniewtrep Integrated Territorial Organisation (HITO), a local civil society group, to approach Governor C.H. Vijayashankar. The organisation has demanded a probe by a central investigation agency, alleging serious lapses in enforcement.
In its submission, HITO dismissed claims that the blast was accidental, alleging long-standing political protection that enabled illegal mining activities to continue. The group also claimed that responsibility is often shifted to lower-level officials after such incidents, while influential figures avoid accountability.
The organisation further raised concerns about the nationality of some of the deceased workers and urged authorities to verify citizenship before releasing compensation. It also described the mining site as falling in an unregulated zone under the state’s land ownership system, making it susceptible to illegal control by powerful interests.
Illegal coal mining in the region has led to multiple fatal incidents over the years, even after repeated bans imposed by the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
A panel led by retired Justice B.P. Katakey was tasked with examining coal mining practices in Meghalaya and recommending safeguards in 2019, a process that later shaped directions issued by the Supreme Court the same year.
One such direction permitted the sale of coal mined before the National Green Tribunal imposed its 2014 ban, a provision that was subsequently misused to disguise newly extracted coal as old stock.
Continued concerns prompted the Meghalaya High Court, in 2022, to once again assign Justice Katakey to assess compliance, with his preliminary findings highlighting repeated violations of judicial orders.