Six plans were executed including drilling from over three sites - horizontal and vertical. The machines did help in moving pipes for food and other necessary materials to the trapped workers....
Munna Qureshi, one of the rat-hole mining experts, described the emotional moment they had finally broken through the wall of debris.
“I removed the last rock and I could see them,” he told Indian media. “They hugged us, lifted us up and thanked us for taking them out. We worked continuously in the last 24 hours. I can’t express my happiness. I have done it for my country.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi might get some credit. But it was a Miracle .... via well planned and well coordinated efforts !! All 41 workers trapped under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi evacuated after 17 days
Rat hole mining – a primitive method of extracting coal through very small tunnels – is outlawed in India due to its high risk, but the practice remains common in some states.
The tunnel is part of the $1.5bn Char Dham highway, one of PM Modi’s most ambitious projects, aimed at connecting four Hindu pilgrimage sites through a 550-mile network of roads.
The project has faced criticism from environmental experts, who have alleged it is will lead to subsidence and disturbance of the fragile Himalayan region, which is already prone to landslides and earthquakes
The rescue workers were safely pulled out who were trapped in a portion of the Silkyara tunnel since November 12. All the 41 workers were safely evacuated by rescue teams following a day-long rat-mining operation which was initiated after heavy and advanced drilling machines failed to clear the debris in the under-construction Silkyara tunnel.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the rescued construction workers over the phone and enquired about their well-being.
"The success of the rescue operation of our brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to the friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience are inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health," the Prime Minister tweeted.
"It is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait, these friends of ours will now meet their loved ones. The patience and courage that all these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough," he said.
The rat-hole miners, a team of seven, were able to dig over 10 meters (till the end) within 48 hours at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, which led to a major breakthrough for the rescue operation.
"Since the collapse of the tunnel, various government agencies worked tirelessly on each assigned task to ensure the safe evacuation of the workers. National and International experts were also present at the site to advise on the rescue operation. Several machines, resources, and experts from across the country were tasked with ensuring the safe rescue of workers," reported 'India Today'.
The dramatic scenes of the first men emerging on stretchers from the entrance of the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel came after more than 400 hours, during which the rescue operation hit multiple obstacles, delays and false promises of imminent rescue.
The workers were pulled out through an escape pipe on Tuesday night (Nov 28, 2023) after the last stretch of rubble had been manually drilled by a specialist team of “rat-hole mining” experts who had been flown in to help after the mechanical drill broke down.
The national highways authority of India has been instructed to audit 29 other tunnels being built across the country.
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