Silkyara tragedy
Uttarkashi, Nov 27: Rescuers have fallen back on the rat-hole mining technique to evacuate 41 labourers trapped in a tunnel in this Uttarakhand district for 15 days, following the failure of a heavy machine to drill through the rubble to create an escape passage for them.
Rat-hole mining is often associated with Meghalaya, where holes are drilled for mining small amounts of coal.
At the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, at least 12 experts have been called by Trenchless Engineering Services Private Limited and Navayuga Engineers Private limited for applying the rat-hole mining technique horizontally in the collapsed part of the main structure. (PTI)