Yesterday (November 28), marked the conclusion of the 17-day nightmare endured by 41 workers trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. The rescue effort is being hailed as one of India’s most complicated and dangerous rescue operations. The rescue operations got momentum when the rat-hole miners were involved and declared that they were only a few metres away from the 41 workers stuck in the collapsed Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand.
🇮🇳🇮🇳41 TRAPPED MINERS STORY:-
— South One (@SouthOneNews) November 29, 2023
The representational image of how the 17 days ordeal ended.
Image Source: Hindustan Times#UttarakhandTunnelRescue #UttarakhandTunnel #UttarkashiRescue #Uttarkashi #Uttarakhand #UttrakhandTunnelCollapse #UttarakhandRescue pic.twitter.com/plahksPmL1
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said Rat-hole miners were called in because the auger machine that was digging through the trash broke. The rat-hole miners tried cutting the blade out of the pipes and taking it out one piece at a time. Because big pieces of metal made it hard for the machine to drill, the searchers dug rat holes instead.
Delayed in Himalayas
It took 17 days to reach the 41 construction workers who were trapped in the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) Silkyara Tunnel near the town of Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand state. The mishap occurred after a landslip had partially collapsed the tunnel. The tunnel was being built near the mountain. They had to cut through metal and rocks to get to the workers who were buried under a wall of rubble around 60 metres (197 ft) high.
All 41 trapped workers were all low-income migrant labourers from around the nation Initially, the use of excavators and drilling machines to bore horizontally and in a straight line through the debris. However, the rescuers who were working in shifts of 24 hours were frustrated since the drilling machine broke down more than once. After digging horizontally for ten days, a tiny camera was sent down a tight pipe to take the first pictures of the trapped workers and everyone was well pumped by the rescue efforts with momentum.
On the thirteenth day of the effort, the rescuers’ hopes were shattered when their drilling machine broke down beyond repair. In the digging, they had less than sixty-six feet (66 metres) to go. The mood changed and worries spread to the loved ones of the trapped employees.
However, the international experts and Indian team devised a new strategy and started drilling from the peak of the mountain, a route that would necessitate excavating nearly twice as far as the horizontal shaft.
Nonetheless, the machine’s digging got stuck by debris and it became difficult to remove it. Then they altered the strategy of involving rat hole miners in the operations. On Monday, a crew of miners was sent in to manually excavate the last section of the trail, making room for a tunnel to be constructed from welded metal pipes. After the pipes were set up, the rescuers proceeded to push through the uneven terrain.
What is Rat-hole Mining?
Rat hole mining is a popular technique used in Meghalaya for the extraction of coal from horizontal, narrow layers. “Rat hole” refers to the narrow, pit-like cavities excavated into the ground, which are usually just large enough for a single individual to slide down and extract coal. After excavating the pits, miners descend to the coal beds by means of bamboo ladders or cables. Following this, coal is extracted by hand deploying rudimentary tools like pickaxes, shovels, and vessels.
Parsadi Lodhi, a rat hole miner from Jhansi who arrived in Silkyara to help with the rescue, said he would enter the rescue pipes and use hand-held tools to dig through the remaining rubble obstructing the tunnel’s exit. The rat hole mining of creates substantial environmental and safety risks. Frequently, the mines operate without regulatory oversight, devoid of essential safety provisions including adequate ventilation, structural reinforcement, and protective equipment for the workers.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) prohibited the practise in 2014 and maintained the prohibition in 2015. The NGT noted that there are numerous instances where rat-hole mining has led to water flooding into the mining regions during the rainy season, causing the deaths of several individuals, including employees and labourers.
A Big appreciation for Sir Arnold Dix, The Australian miner who saved 41 lives in #uttarakhandtunnelrescue and brought joy to the country. His expertise and faith in the almighty have done the impossible. Congratulations and salute to all rescue workers who worked tirelessly to get the job done.
