Meghalaya, the death toll in the dynamite blasting incident at an illegal coal mining site in the Thangskoo area of East Jaintia Hills district has risen to 30. Deputy Commissioner of East Jaintia Hills, Manish Kumar informed the media that the explosion occurred on the morning of February 5.

 

The district administration received information in the afternoon and immediately rushed to the site. In coordination with the state government, the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and Search and Rescue Teams were mobilised. Rescue operations began the same day and continued till February 9.

 

Initially, 28 deaths were confirmed, while two more victims succumbed to injuries at Silchar Medical College in Assam, taking the total number of fatalities to 30. The Deputy Commissioner said the district administration is processing ex-gratia payments for the next of kin. Meanwhile, the district administration has launched a strict enforcement drive against illegal coal mining.