Rescuers find second body from mine tragedy in northeast India

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Rescuers have located a second body from the site of a "rat-hole" mining accident in India's northeastern state of Meghalaya, a spokesperson for the country's navy said on Saturday, two days after recovering the first body.

Fifteen miners were trapped on Dec. 13 when their illegal mine was flooded. A court stipulated ban on unregulated mining in the state in 2014 has not stopped such activities.

Thousands of workers in Meghalaya, including children, have been killed in so-called rat-hole mines, in which miners crawl into narrow shafts on bamboo ladders to dig for low-quality coal.

"Indian navy diving team finds second body 280 feet inside the rat-hole mine," a navy spokesperson said in a tweet.

There was no immediate indication on when the body will be brought to the surface, said a rescue official, who did not want to be named.

Families and relatives of the trapped miners have given up hope that any of them will be found alive.