Shillong, Feb 9: The Meghalaya government has decided to set up a Judicial Inquiry Commission under the Commission of Inquiry Act to investigate the deadly mining incident in the Mynsngat–Thangsko area of East Jaintia Hills district, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma announced, with the death toll in the tragedy climbing to 27.
Officials confirmed that at least six of those who lost their lives were from Assam, underlining the inter-state nature of the incident and the continued influx of workers into illegal coal mining operations in the region. Many of the victims were daily-wage labourers who were employed in extremely risky conditions at the time of the blast and subsequent cave-in.
The explosion at the illegal mining site triggered an extensive rescue and recovery operation involving the police, disaster response forces and local authorities. Bodies were retrieved over several days, with teams working in treacherous terrain and under constant safety threats. Earlier, officials had not ruled out the possibility of more people being trapped inside the mine.
The tragedy has once again brought to light the persistence of illegal rat-hole coal mining in Meghalaya, despite a long-standing ban and repeated alerts about the life-threatening risks associated with such practices.
Announcing the judicial inquiry, Chief Minister Sangma said the commission would thoroughly examine the sequence of events that led to the disaster, identify any lapses and fix responsibility. He added that the findings would guide both legal action and policy interventions to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The state government reiterated its commitment to delivering justice to the families of the victims and assured strict action against those found responsible, even as public anger continues to mount over the scale and recurring nature of such mining tragedies.
