The Meghalaya government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that the families of the victims who were trapped inside a coal mine in December last year and are untraced till now, have consented to call off search operations.

Deputy chief minister Prestone Tynsong said on Thursday, “We have filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court informing that the family members of the miners have given their consent to call off the search and rescue operations. We are waiting for directions from the Supreme Court on the matter.” In the affidavit, the government has attached the written consent of the family members of the miners, he said. On December 13 last year, 15 miners were reported trapped inside a coal mine at Ksan under Saipung police station in East Jaintia Hills district, after water from nearby Lytein river gushed in.

A multi-agency search and rescue operations was put in place, including dewatering of the coal mine where the miners were reported trapped.

In perhaps one of the biggest dewatering exercises ever, more than 100 crore litres of water has since been pumped out from the main shaft where the miners were reported trapped and the adjacent abandoned coal mines. The dewatering was necessary to pave way for divers to go deep down the main shaft in search of the miners.

However, except for the detection and recovery of two bodies with the help of the Indian Navy’s remotely-operated vehicle (ROV), nothing substantial has emerged.

The first body, identified as that of Amir Hussain from Assam’s Chirang district, was detected by the ROV on January 16 and retrieved on January 24. Hussain’s family was able to identify the 35-year-old from the two tabeez (amulets) he had worn.

The second body, identified as that of L. Dimonme Dkhar, a resident of nearby Lumthari village, was retrieved on February 27.

East Jaintia Hills deputy commissioner F.M. Dopth said approximately 108 crore litres of water has been dewatered from the mines.

Till date, two pumps each of Coal India Limited and Pune-based German company KSB and five pumps of Kirloskar Brothers Limited are being utilised in the dewatering of the mines.

The operations have also been hampered by incessant rainfall. Dopth said the entire area near Ksan coal mine was flooded, rendering it impossible for personnel to reach the site since Wednesday.

“The operations came to a halt yesterday (Wednesday) as the Lytein is in spate following incessant rainfall in the region,” Dopth said.

The personnel had carried on with dewatering operations till Tuesday, despite rain.

Even on Thursday, the water level of the Lytien has not receded, rendering it impossible for personnel to reach the site. The agencies also postponed the dewatering process as the fuel required for running the generator sets cannot be transported.

It has been more than four months now since the Ksan incident was brought to light. After families of the trapped miners expressed their willingness to call off the operations, Dopth submitted the letters of consent to the state government on April 16, citing that the operation be called off as there was no tangible result. The Supreme Court has been monitoring the operation after advocate Aditya N. Prasad filed a petition. On January 28, the apex court had asked the Centre and the state government to continue their multi-agency operations to trace the miners.

On March 12, the apex court had directed the state government and the petitioner to seek the views of the families of the trapped miners whether they would like the search operations to continue.

Last month, an interim relief package of Rs 3 lakh was paid to the miners’ family members who claimed that the amount was too meagre for their sustenance.