After 17 days of rigorous drilling and work, the rescue mission of the Silkyrara tunnel finally reached a happy conclusion on Wednesday, November 28, 2023. The rescuers managed to rescue all 41 laborers healthily. They were hailed for their unwavering perseverance and hard work. Munna Qureshi, who reached the workers first, has been acclaimed as the operation’s hero.
The rat-hole miners completed the final mile of the Uttarakhand tunnel by working 24/7. The miners said that they started removing the debris at around 7 pm on Monday and the entire operation was completed in less than 24 hours. Munna Qureshi is one of the miners, who reached the workers first. 29-year-old Munna Qureshi is a rat-hole miner employed by a trenchless engineering services company in Delhi that cleans water and sewer systems. They were brought to Silkyara on Monday to remove the remaining 12 meters of debris.
“I removed the last rock and I saw them. Then, I went to the other side. They hugged me, cheered in applause, and thanked me profusely,” Qureshi said, after coming out from the tunnel. “I can’t express my happiness. I have done this for my fellow workers. The respect they (trapped workers) have given us, I can’t forget my whole life,” he added.
Another miner, who did not give his name, described that the rescue was a very difficult operation because of a lot of rocks and sediments. Another rat-hole miner, Munna Bhai, said “Our four teams were working in eight-hour shifts. At a given time, three workers were inside the pipe tunnel. Our job was to remove the debris as the pipe was being pushed through the debris. We kept digging for almost 24 hours”.
“We worked non-stop for 24 hours. We are overwhelmed that finally we could take them out,” another rescuer Feroz said. The term “rat hole” refers to the narrow pits dug into the ground which is just large enough for one person to descend and extract coal. The name comes from its resemblance to rats burrowing through narrow holes.
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