Indian army divers retrieved the body of one of at least nine miners trapped inside a flooded coal mine in India’s northeastern Assam state, officials said on Wednesday.

The miners became trapped on Monday when water gushed in from a nearby unused mine in the Umrangso area in Dima Hasao district, about 200 kilometres south of the state capital, Guwahati.

“Army deep divers have found and retrieved one body from the flooded mine. The divers will go into the mine again to continue their search operations,” said Kaushik Rai, a local government minister who is monitoring the rescue efforts.

Nearly 100 rescuers from the police, navy, army and the National Disaster Response Force are battling adverse conditions and taking turns searching inside the 90 metre-deep mine.

The navy is also sending in remotely-operated vehicles to examine the mine.

“High suction pumps are being flown into the site by Indian Air Force helicopters to aid in pumping out the water from the mine,” Rai said.

The water in the mine is estimated to be 30 metres deep.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on the social media platform X that the mine appeared to be illegal and that police had arrested one person as they investigated the case.

Workers at the site said over a dozen miners had been trapped inside the mine, and some managed to escape as water from the nearby unused mine began pouring in. (AP)