Shillong, January 26: 45 days after the tragedy at the illegal mine of East jaintia Hills was reported, the Indian Navy has succeeded in detecting the second body among the 15 miners who are suspected to be dead. The detection came a day after the rescue personnel retrieved the first corpse -- after over a month-long operation.

The Navy Spokesperson issued a statement on social media, claiming that the body has been detected 280ft inside one of the rat holes at the mining site. According to another official, who spoke to reporters, the body was detected in the same rat hole from which one corpse was recovered on Friday. What is Rat-Hole Mining Which Led to 15 Miners Being Trapped?

Here is the statement issued by the Navy on Twitter:

The deceased miner whose body was recovered yesterday has been identified as Amir Hussain of western Assam. Although his recovery has lit hopes among other bereaved families, an official involved in the rescue operations said retrieving the remaining corpses is akin to an uphill task.

Earlier this month, the rescue operations were called off as the state government, along with the agencies pressed into action, concluded that the survival of trapped miners is "impossible".

The Supreme Court, however, ordered the government to initiate the rescue operation and retrieve the bodies even if the miners have died.

The apex court, on January 15, had also lambasted the Meghalaya government for failing to crackdown on illegal mining operations thriving in the state.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 26, 2019 01:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).