It has been 21 days since 15 miners have been trapped inside a coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills but there are no signs of rescuers being able to reach out to them.

On Wednesday, personnel from the Odisha fire and disaster management services continued with their operation to pump out water from an old mine located near the main shaft where the 15 miners were trapped at Ksan near the Lytein river under Saipung police station.

More than 1,20,000 litres of water have been pumped out of the old shaft so far, leading to about 16-inch decline in its water level. But the actual volume of water in this old mine could not be determined.

On Wednesday, the pumping operation started at 10.30am and continued till 5.10pm, official spokesperson R. Susngi said from Ksan. One water pump, which can take out at least 1,600 litres of water per minute, was deployed.

He also said that preparations were on to utilise Coal India Limited’s high-power submersible pump. This pump can draw out at least 500 gallons of water per minute.

However, he said, the water level in the main shaft has not reduced. The main shaft is more than 320 feet deep. Of this, about 150 feet are under water. No water pumping was carried out in the main shaft. Susngi said navy divers might go into the main shaft on Thursday to determine the water level.

On Wednesday, NDRF (First Battalion) commandant S.K. Shastri from Guwahati visited the site where he interacted with the district administration officials and other officials of agencies involved in the search-and-rescue operations.

With every passing minute, the fate of the 15 miners who have been trapped since December 13, 2018, is becoming grim. The miners include three locals, seven from Rajabala in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills, and five from neighbouring Assam. The district administration has provided interim relief to the next of kin of the miners.