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The incident happened when the vigilance team along with senior officials of the state-owned company went inside the mine for an inspection.
At least five people have been identified by the district administration - four from Assam and one from Tripura- who got stuck somewhere inside the rat-hole mine.
The miners were trapped inside the illegal mine in Lumthari village of East Jaintia Hills district on December 13 after water from the nearby Lytein river gushed in.
The miners were trapped on December 13 when their illegal mine was flooded.
Scientists and top notch agencies, known for their work in underground mines of the country, Sunday arrived in the East Jaintia Hills to step up efforts to rescue the miners.
SC said that it was not satisfied with the steps taken so far for the rescue of 15 people who are trapped in an illegal coal mine in the state since December 13.
The Odisha Fire and Emergency Services would press their 10 high-powered pumps on Sunday to dewater the flooded mine.
The water in the 370-feet-deep rat hole mine initially increased after the levels in the nearby Lytein river went up.
The National Green Tribunal has banned unscientific and unsafe rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya in 2014.
According to the authorities, the ventilation system inside the mine has started functioning again and rescue operations were underway.