Families of nine of the 16 miners trapped inside an illegal rat-hole coal mine in Meghalaya since December have given their consent to the district administration to stop the ongoing search operations which entered the 130th day on Sunday, officials said.
The bodies of only two victims — one from nearby Lumthari village and another from Assam — have been retrieved from the mine in East Jaintia Hills district early this year.
“We have received letters of consent from the families to stop the ongoing search operations. The letters, submitted to the district administration, have been sent to the State government and will be submitted to the Supreme Court for granting necessary approval,” a senior official said.
Those who have written to the administration include families of two miners from Lumthari village in East Jaintia Hills and the rest from Assam, the official added. The fa milies, however, have requested that the compensation be increased, he said.
