Khliehriat/Shillong: The relatives have identified 17 bodies of coal miners in East Jaintia Hills out of the 25 recovered, police said.
Many relatives of the deceased were anxiously waiting at Khliehriat Hospital for the formalities to be completed.
The deceased are mostly from Assam and Nepal. There are locals, too.
Economic hardships have compelled many families to engage as labourers in hazardous mines.
In the wee hours on Friday, journalists interacted with the relatives of the injured miners at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS).
Alia, Syiemlieh, the sister in-law of the injured Raju Tamang (35), said people found him with burn injuries around 12 pm.
He was first shifted to Woodland Hospital in Jowai and then to Woodland Hospital in Shillong.
Later, he was shifted to NEIGRIHMS.
Regarding the working conditions, Alia said, “In such places, they work so that they can send their children to a good school so that their kids won’t have to do such things in the future.”
The job is risky, and without safety measures, she said.
The wife of Deb Malakar said her husband sustained injuries in the blast, and it was due to the impact of the dynamite blast in another mine.
He has been working at the mine for the past three weeks.
They have four children who are currently sheltered in the camp near the mine.
She said the labourers went for work around 5 am, and the incident occurred after 7 am.
College student Dolma Sherpa from Khliehriat is looking after her father, Dewa Sherpa (54), at NEIGRIHMS.
Sherpa has been working in the mine for one month.
“My father is working in coal mines to support the family and our studies. We are in shock since such a thing happened to my father, my mother can’t process what is going on,” she added.
