The divers from the Indian Navy and the NDRF on Wednesday could not go down the 370 foot-deep mine, in which 15 miners are trapped for nearly three weeks, even as draining out of a nearby abandoned mine they believe may be connected to it continued, officials said.
A high-powered submersible pump from Coal India Ltd will be put into operation Thursday in the abandoned mine, while more pumps from Odissa Fire and Disaster service are to be pressed into services in more abandoned mines, they said.
The divers from the Indian navy and the NDRF did not go down the main shaft to rescue the trapped miners because ‘de-watering’ was going on in the nearby mines and there was no significant decrease in water level there, operation spokesperson R Susngi told PTI, giving details of the operation on the 21st day of the disaster.
At about 5.30 pm, the water level at the nearby abandoned mine went down by 16 inches, he said. On Tuesday, water level in this mine had lowered down by six inches.
The spokesperson said the services of the Navy and NDRF divers will be used once the water level at the main shaft decreases to about 100 feet from its current level of over 160 feet.
A high powered submersible pump from Coal India Ltd, which arrived here Tuesday night, is expected to be fully operational and begin pumping on Thursday, Susngi said.