Rescuers recovered two more bodies on Saturday (February 7) from an illegal coal mine in northeast India where an explosion killed 27 people, officials said.

The blast occurred at around 10 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Thursday (February 5) in a "rat-hole" mine in the East Jaintia Hills district, named for tunnels just large enough for workers to crawl through.

Eight people were injured in the incident, according to Manish Kumar, the district's deputy commissioner.

Rescue efforts were hampered by the mine's remote location, requiring several hours of off-road driving for state and federal workers to reach the site, Kumar said.

Rat-hole mines were once widely used in India's northeastern states but were banned in 2014 due to high fatalities and environmental damage.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

EAST JAINTIA HILLS, MEGHALAYA, INDIA (FEBRUARY 7, 2026) (ANI - No use India)

1. NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE (NDRF) PERSONNEL GOING DOWN 'RAT-HOLE' MINE

2. RECOVERY OPERATIONS UNDERWAY

3. VARIOUS OF NDRF PERSONNEL BRINGING TWO BODIES OUT OF MINE

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) NATIONAL DISASTER RESPONSE FORCE COMMANDANT, HITENDER PAL SINGH KANDARI, SAYING:

"As per information that we got from the administration, on the first day, 18 bodies were recovered before our operation. And then, after starting our operation, yesterday we recovered four bodies, and today, till now, we have recovered two bodies."

5. VARIOUS OF RECOVERY OPERATIONS UNDERWAY