NEW DELHI, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- The death toll in a coal mine blast in India's northeastern state of Meghalaya rose to 32, local media reported Thursday.
The blast took place on Feb. 5 inside a coal mine at Mynsyngat-Thangsko in East Jaintia Hills district, about 70 km east of Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya.
The local government has already ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
Meghalaya is one of India's mineral-rich states and has nearly 640 million tonnes of coal reserves, according to the government website.
Activists say illegal coal mining is going on in the state despite a ban from India's environmental court, National Green Tribunal in 2014 on unscientific mining in the area.
Experts say locals illegally extract coal using dangerous "rat-hole" mines, which means digging into the side of hills and then burrowing horizontal narrow tunnels to reach a coal deposit. ■
