MUMBAI, India: At least 18 people were killed on Thursday after an explosion tore through an illegal coal mine in India’s northeastern state of Meghalaya, police and local officials said.
Rescue teams recovered the bodies during search operations at the site in the East Jaintia Hills district, local police said in a statement.
“During the course of the rescue operation, a total of 18 dead bodies have been recovered from the site of the explosion,” the police said.
Eight others were injured in the blast, according to Manish Kumar, the district’s top administrative official.
Rescuers worked through rubble and debris to determine whether more miners were trapped underground.
Operations were halted at sundown and will resume on Friday morning with support from state and federal disaster management agencies, officials said.
The exact number of workers inside the mine at the time of the explosion has not yet been confirmed. Authorities said more people were feared trapped.
Kumar said the site was an illegal “rat-hole” mine, a form of mining common in the region.
#Watch | At least 18 people were killed, and several labourers were feared trapped after an explosion occurred in a suspected “illegal” coal mine at a village in Meghalaya’s East Jaintia Hills district on Thursday (February 5, 2026), police said.
Live updates:… pic.twitter.com/XEcFniiOTv
— The Hindu (@the_hindu) February 5, 2026
District police chief Vikash Kumar told AFP that the explosion was likely triggered by a dynamite blast, though forensic investigations were ongoing.
“After the explosion, a fire happened. Lots of toxic gas accumulated,” he said.
Authorities have not yet issued a final determination on the cause of the blast.
Rat-hole mining involves digging deep vertical shafts that branch into narrow tunnels to extract coal and other minerals.
India’s federal environment court banned the practice in Meghalaya in 2014, citing pollution of water sources and serious safety risks.
Despite the ban, illegal coal mining remains widespread in parts of the state, particularly in the East Jaintia Hills, often operating without basic safety measures.
Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said a “comprehensive inquiry” had been ordered into the incident and promised accountability.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was “pained by the mishap”.
“Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover at the earliest,” Modi said in a statement on social media.
The families of those killed would receive compensation of 200,000 rupees ($2,216) each, according to an official statement.
