The victims have been identified as Ganga Bahadur Shresth, 38, Hussain Ali, 30, Jakir Hussain, 38, Sarpa Barman, 46, Mustafa Seikh, 44, Khusi Mohan Rai, 57, Sanjit Sarkar, 35, Lijan Magar, 26, and Sarat Goyary, 37.

DNA tests will be conducted to identify the men as the bodies are in a decomposed state, a state official told the BBC. On 6 January, nine miners were trapped after water flooded

The incident had also stirred a debate on the prevalence of illegal rat-hole mining in the state and had precipitated a crackdown on such mines not just in Dima Hasao but also in coal reserves in Eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district.

After 44 days, bodies of five miners who had been trapped in a flooded coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district were recovered.