Silchar (Assam), February 10 The death toll in the coal mine blast in Meghalaya's East Jaintia Hills district has risen to 30, with two more persons succumbing to injuries at a hospital here, an official said on Tuesday.
Both were residents of Katigorah in Assam's Cachar district and were being treated at the Silchar Medical College and Hospital (SMCH).
"Two persons injured in the coal mine blast died at the SMCH hospital on Monday night. They have been identified as Ramchandra Baishnab and Nimaruddin," the health department official said.
Altogether, nine injured miners were admitted to the SMCH after the February 5 incident.
The blast had occurred at an illegally operated coal mine in the remote Thangsku area of Mynsngat village in neighboring Meghalaya.
The Meghalaya government has ordered a judicial inquiry into the incident to determine the circumstances leading to the blast and assign responsibility.
The Assam government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of each deceased from the state. At least eight labourers from the state, all from Cachar district, have so far died in the incident.