Video : Amazing rescue act saves lives of 41 labourers trapped in Uttar Kashi tunnel

  

The 17-day wait is finally over.  National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel rescued 41 workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, one by one on Tuesday night.  To rescue them, the workers trapped in the tunnel were rescued with a lame 'rat hole' (which is called 'rat-hole mining').

 Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister and former Army Chief General (Retired) VK Singh were present at the spot.  Jharkhand's Vijay Horo was the first to come out of the tunnel at 7:52 pm.  After that the rest one by one.  'Operation Zindagi' ended at 8:38 PM.  After the rescue, the workers were taken to Chinialisaur Hospital in Uttarkashi by ambulance through the pre-arranged green corridor.

 In the early morning of November 12, the Silkiara tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi.  41 workers were trapped inside.  For so long, various efforts were being made to rescue them.  But it was not possible to dig the rubble and reach the workers.  The hitch came last Friday at the time of the lameness.  The American-made excavator crashed into the iron structure inside the rubble.  The rescue operation stopped.  The administration was in constant communication with the tunnel workers until the rescue.  They were talking through the pipe.  Food, water and other essentials were being delivered.

The first video of Uttarkashi workers while in the tunnel came to light last Tuesday.  Rescuers send cameras through pipes.  There you can see how and in what condition they are inside the tunnel.  As the excavator broke down, the excavation work started afresh in two ways.  After removing all the pieces of the excavator from the tunnel, the miners entered and started digging without tools.  The plan was to dig 10-12 meters in that way.  This process is called the 'rat-hole' process.  The plan was to extricate the workers from the tunnel by digging rat holes.  Apart from this, vertical excavation work on the tunnel also started.  Out of the 86 meters, 42 meters had collapsed by Tuesday morning.

 The 'rat-hole' or 'rat-hole mining' method is used to extract raw material from various mines.  This process is particularly well known in coal mines.  Through this, expert, experienced workers are divided into small groups and go to the mine.  They proceeded to dig a narrow hole with little space.  Just like burrowing mice do.  They took the necessary coal and came out again in the same manner.  This man-based method was adopted to barge the workers in the Uttarkashi tunnel after the American machine broke down.

 12 expert miners were brought to the rescue site in the first phase to 'dig the rat hole'.  They divided into small groups and proceeded.  Reaching inside the tunnel, a man started digging the wall.  Another collects the rubble and a third loads it onto a wheeled cart.  The car carries the debris out of the tunnel.  In the end, success came in that way.  Apart from digging 'rat holes' vertical mining is going on from above in Silkiara.  Attempts were made to reach the trapped workers by digging out the soil from the top of the hill.

In the below short video it is shown the situation inside the tunnel and a glimpse of rescue work .

Courtesy  btv