Police and rescue personnel on Sunday recovered the body of an unidentified person from a water-filled coal mine shaft in East Jaintia Hills district. The body was retrieved from a coal mine shaft at Moolait Bri Sumer village after local residents alerted authorities about a corpse floating inside the pit. Police and rescue teams, assisted by the State Disaster Response Force, later carried out the recovery operation. East Jaintia Hills Superintendent of Police Pankaj Kumar Rasgania said the operation was difficult due to the depth of the shaft and the waterlogged condition of the abandoned mine.
“The body had likely been there for a few days, and we do not yet know the circumstances behind this tragedy. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination and further details will emerge after the investigation,” Rasgania said. Police said the identity of the deceased is yet to be established and an investigation has been launched to determine how the person ended up inside the shaft. Ruling out the possibility of active illegal coal extraction at the site, Rasgania said the mine and surrounding pits in the area had long been abandoned.
“This particular coal mine shaft was filled with water and no illegal coal mining activity was taking place there,” he added. The recovery comes amid heightened scrutiny over illegal coal mining activities in East Jaintia Hills district, which has witnessed several fatal incidents in recent months despite repeated court interventions and monitoring. In February, at least 30 people were reportedly killed in an explosion at an alleged illegal coal mine in the district, prompting the Meghalaya High Court to seek a detailed report from the state government and warn that accountability would be fixed if lapses continued.