Rescuers in India have stepped up efforts to try and reach 15 miners who have been stuck in a cave for 16 days.
The men had been working at an illegal coal mine in Meghalaya on December 13 when they became trapped by flood water.
It’s thought that they are at the bottom of the shaft, nearly 320 feet deep.
Rescuers have been attempting to drain the mine however they have limited resources.
On Thursday around 80 rescue personnel were working to pump out water from the area.
Indian Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Ratnakar Singh confirmed that a C-130J Super Hercules has been deployed to airlift rescuers to the region on Friday.
Santosh Singh from the National Disaster Response Force told IANS: “The rescue mission is still on and our divers dived yesterday to locate the trapped miners but could not locate any of them.
“There is nothing in the main shaft of the coal pit. We have used all our equipment with us including SONAR to find out if any of the miners are trapped in the main shaft.”
The mine is illegal and employed a method of extracting coal known as rat-hole mining, according to CNN.
The government has been accused of responding to the incident slowly.
Rahul Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress wrote on Twitter: “15 miners have been struggling for air in a flooded coal mine for two weeks.
“Meanwhile, PM struts about on Bogibeel Bridge posing for cameras. His government refuses to organise high pressure pumps for the rescue.
“PM please save the miners.”
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