Father and Son Die from Toxic Fumes in Alleged Illegal Assam Coal Mine
A father-and-son duo died after inhaling toxic fumes in an alleged illegal coal mine in the Ledo area of Tinsukia district, eastern Assam. The incident occurred on the night of July 20, just hours after a separate methane gas leak killed at least 15 workers in a hydropower tunnel in Sikkim.
The deceased, identified as Sagar Ali and his son Ishan Ali, were from Gaibandha village in Goalpara district. The Tinsukia District Committee of the International Human Rights Council (IHRC) reported that the duo died due to gas emitted from what they termed illegal coal mining in an area known as Deep Mine. However, the district police stated that the cause of death is yet to be confirmed, and an investigation is underway.
The Deep Mine site is located on land abandoned by the North Eastern Coalfields, a unit of Coal India Limited. According to L. Ratan Singh, general secretary of the IHRC district committee, the organisation has identified those allegedly involved in the illegal operation, including owners, supervisors, and the operator. Singh urged the district authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial probe into the deaths and to crack down on illegal coal mining activities. The IHRC has also appealed to the Gauhati High Court to take suo motu cognisance of the incident.
This incident is part of a troubling pattern: at least 10 miners have died in alleged illegal coal mines in the region between September 2022 and June 2024, either from mine collapses or exposure to toxic gases. Such mining, often referred to as 'rat-hole' mining, is an unscientific and hazardous method employed in the hilly areas of Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland. It involves digging narrow vertical shafts and horizontal tunnels, often just large enough for one person to crawl into, where miners extract coal using primitive tools.
The deaths highlight the ongoing dangers of unregulated mining and the urgent need for enforcement of safety regulations and legal mining practices.
