In Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, a tunnel collapsed, and 41 laborers were trapped.

After 17 days of tireless efforts, they have been successfully pulled out.

The eyes of the entire country as well as the international media were fixed on this tunnel being built in Silkyara.

Excavation of the last 10-12 meters was the most difficult task of the rescue mission. Rat hole miners played a major role in this.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, Munna Qureshi, a ‘rat hole miner’ working in a Delhi company, was the first person to reach and meet the laborers trapped in the tunnel at 7:50 pm on the 28th.

Munna is a miner. He works for a company called Trenchless Engineering Services. This company cleans sewers and water pipes in Delhi.

Munna was brought to Silkyara to remove the stone soil in the last 12 meters.

Munna says that he started removing the stones and mud from the evening of 27th and completed the work in less than 24 hours.

The Hindustan Times report further said that after coming out of the tunnel, Munna Qureshi said, “I removed the last stone and saw those people. They hugged me, clapped and thanked me.”

NDRF chief Manmohan Singh Rawat spoke to news agency ANI about what he felt after reaching the tunnel.

He said, “When I reached inside the tunnel, my fellow laborers started jumping for joy. Their happiness was overflowing. I told them that the NDRF team has reached. Now you have to get out of here. This campaign was very challenging for us. But things went as planned. We used to encourage the laborers trapped in the tunnel so that they do not lose their mental balance.

What is Rat Hole Mining?

An old method of extracting coal from narrow passages in the mines is called rat hole mining. This method is widely used in Meghalaya.

Rat hole means like a rat digging a narrow passage inside the ground through which only one person can crawl to extract coal. The name comes from the rat’s burrow.

The first laborer rescued from the Silkyara tunnel was taken to a public health center at around 8pm local time.

Munna Qureshi said that the rat hole miners were constantly removing the rock and soil debris.

He said, “I cannot express my happiness in words. I did this work for my fellow workers. I will never forget the respect they gave me.”

Another rat hole miner Feroz’s brother-in-law Nayan, who was digging in the last two meters, came out of the tunnel.

“I hugged the trapped laborer and cried,” he said.

Another rat hole miner said that the rescue operation was difficult as there were huge stones in the pile.

He said, “Around one in the afternoon we started hearing voices of people trapped inside. It was about 10 meters away from us. We shouted to them that you will be rescued soon.”

Subodh Kumar Verma is among the 41 laborers who were rescued safely from the Silkyara tunnel. After coming out, he told news agency ANI, “I am from Jharkhand. To be honest, we only suffered for 24 hours after being stuck there. For the first 24 hours there was no food or drink, and oxygen was low.”