Uttarkashi tunnel collapse - Six-member rat-hole mining team deployed for rescue ops
Manual drilling and horizontal excavation using the rat-hole mining method began on monday at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi to evacuate the 41 workers who had been trapped inside for 16 days, according to people familiar with the situation, who added that six rat-hole mining experts had been deployed for the rescue operation.
Parts of US-made auger equipment, which bore up to 46.8 meters into the wreckage, were caught in the rubble on Friday, prompting officials to focus on alternate options such as vertical drilling and rat-hole mining. The horizontal drilling through the final 10-12 meters of the rubble of the collapsed segment of the tunnel would be done manually by a team of six rat-hole miners from madhya pradesh, according to officials involved in the rescue mission. On monday, they began drilling from inside the 800- and 900-mm-diameter pipes shoved into the tunnel to evacuate personnel.
"Three of us will go inside the tunnel, one will do the drilling, another will collect muck, and the third will push the muck through the tram," said Rakesh Rajput, one of the madhya pradesh rat-hole miners. "The 41 men are also laborers and we all want to bring them out." Rat-hole mining, which is common in Meghalaya, is a primitive method of obtaining coal resources through small, horizontal passageways. The phrase "rat hole" refers to small trenches excavated into the earth that are usually only large enough for one person to descend and get coal from. It gets its name from its similarity to rats tunneling through little holes.
"I have been doing this work for the last 10-12 years in delhi and Ahmedabad," said Parsadi Lodhi, another rat-hole miner and jhansi native who has joined the rescue mission. But it will be the first time we employ our expertise to save men trapped in a tunnel." Lodhi elaborated on the rescue procedure, saying, "We would enter the rescue pipes and utilise the hand-held equipment to clear debris... There is no need for us to be afraid of this task. We inserted smaller 600-mm holes in these 800-mm pipes."
Parts of US-made auger equipment, which bore up to 46.8 meters into the wreckage, were caught in the rubble on Friday, prompting officials to focus on alternate options such as vertical drilling and rat-hole mining. The horizontal drilling through the final 10-12 meters of the rubble of the collapsed segment of the tunnel would be done manually by a team of six rat-hole miners from madhya pradesh, according to officials involved in the rescue mission. On monday, they began drilling from inside the 800- and 900-mm-diameter pipes shoved into the tunnel to evacuate personnel.
"Three of us will go inside the tunnel, one will do the drilling, another will collect muck, and the third will push the muck through the tram," said Rakesh Rajput, one of the madhya pradesh rat-hole miners. "The 41 men are also laborers and we all want to bring them out." Rat-hole mining, which is common in Meghalaya, is a primitive method of obtaining coal resources through small, horizontal passageways. The phrase "rat hole" refers to small trenches excavated into the earth that are usually only large enough for one person to descend and get coal from. It gets its name from its similarity to rats tunneling through little holes.
"I have been doing this work for the last 10-12 years in delhi and Ahmedabad," said Parsadi Lodhi, another rat-hole miner and jhansi native who has joined the rescue mission. But it will be the first time we employ our expertise to save men trapped in a tunnel." Lodhi elaborated on the rescue procedure, saying, "We would enter the rescue pipes and utilise the hand-held equipment to clear debris... There is no need for us to be afraid of this task. We inserted smaller 600-mm holes in these 800-mm pipes."