GUWAHATI, India (AP) — At least nine workers are trapped inside a coal mine in India’s northeastern Assam state, officials said Tuesday, as authorities summoned the army to help in the rescue operation.

In response to a tragic incident at a coal mine in the remote “3 Kilo” area of the Dima Hasao region, close to the Assam-Meghalaya border, the Indian Army and NDRF have launched a swift Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) mission to aid in rescue operations.

Several workers are feared trapped inside a 'rat hole' coal mine after water entered into the 300-foot-deep quarry in the Dima Hasao district of Assam. The illegal mine is located in Umrangso, a remote industrial town near the Meghalaya border,

Rescue teams were working on Tuesday (January 7) to reach nine men trapped in a flooded coal mine in the remote district of Dima Hasao in Assam, India. Authorities said at least three miners were feared dead.