Nine workers are trapped inside a 300-foot deep coal mine located in the industrial town of Umrangso in Dima Hasao district, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday evening.

The chief minister identified the trapped workers as Ganga Bahadur Shreth, Hussain Ali, Jakir Hussain, Sarpa Barman, Mustafa Seikh, Khusi Mohan Rai, Sanjit Sarkar, Lijan Magar and Sarat Goyary.

The chief minister said that the State Disaster Response Force and the National Disaster Response Force are on their way to the site of the accident to conduct search and rescue operations. He added that the Army’s assistance has also been requested.

“The place is very remote and is accessible through a jungle,” Dima Hasao’s District Commissioner, Simanta K Das, told The Hindu. “We received information about the mishap at 2.00 pm. Since the place is difficult to reach, we will get the actual picture after reaching the place tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.”

Rescue teams who are at the location are also facing major challenges due to the mine's unstable structure and the constant influx of water. The unstable nature of the flooded mine also poses dangers for the workers and rescue teams, India Today Northeast reported.

The workers reportedly got trapped due to sudden flooding that left them no time to escape. Witnesses at the site described scenes of panic as the water levels rose steadily, cutting off all escape routes.