At least six workers were killed in an accident when they were working in a coal mine in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district, Northeast Now reported on Friday.

East Jaintia Hills Deputy Commissioner E Kharmalki confirmed the incident and said that it took place at a coal mine at Sarkari near Rymbai village. The six coal miners had fallen to a depth of 150 feet after the machine they were using to dig a tunnel broke on Thursday.

Kharmalki said that five of the six workers have been identified and their family members have been informed to claim their bodies. Unidentified officials said that all six miners were from Assam.

The bodies of the miners were retrieved on Friday morning. They have been sent to the Community Health Centre in Khliehriat for an autopsy.

In December 2018, 15 miners got trapped in a mine after it got flooded near the Lytein river in the East Jaintia Hills district. About 200 personnel from the Navy, National Disaster Response Force, Coal India, and Kirloskar Brothers Limited took part in the rescue effort. However, only two bodies could be recovered till July 2019 when the Supreme Court allowed the state government to call off the rescue operation.