A Forgotten Legacy: India's Heroic Rat Hole Miners Who Rescued 41 Men from the Himalayan Tunnel
Against all odds, Munna Qureshi and his team defied the depths of a treacherous Himalayan tunnel to save 41 trapped men Their relentless determination shattered barriers and rewrote the definition of heroism
Munna Qureshi and his team were on a mission to rescue dozens of laborers trapped deep inside a Himalayan tunnel. After several failed attempts, just a few pieces of debris stood between them and the trapped workers. "I could hear the laborers gasping with excitement on the other side," said the 29-year-old. "My heart raced as I removed the final rock separating us."
Qureshi is one of 12 skilled workers summoned by Indian authorities to aid in the rescue of 41 construction workers who were trapped in a collapsed tunnel in the northern Uttarakhand state last month.
For almost three weeks, the construction workers were isolated 60 meters within the mountain, relying on food and air delivered through a thin tube and regular updates from the rescuers outside.
One of the rescued workers (center) pictured after leaving the tunnel.
Uttarkashi District Information/Reuters
All 41 workers rescued from collapsed tunnel in India after 17-day ordeal
Engineers worked tirelessly to create a safe path through the fractured rock using cutting-edge machinery, and officials brought in experts to aid in the rescue efforts. However, it was Qureshi and his team who ultimately succeeded in bringing the trapped workers to safety after the drill broke beyond repair just meters from the men. These workers, known locally as "rat hole miners", are part of a specialized, underpaid group of excavators who navigate narrow tunnels to extract coal from deep underground.
The profession is so perilous that it has been outlawed in certain regions. However, it has garnered attention in recent weeks, and the individuals are being hailed as heroes by many nationwide.
"Although rat hole mining might be against the law," stated Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain, a former official from India's National Disaster Management Authority, "the skill and expertise of rat miners should not be overlooked."
Bottom of the hierarchy
The most vulnerable and marginalized workers in India are those employed in the dangerous profession, earning them the unflattering local moniker. Many of them are migrants from some of India's poorest states and reportedly receive only about $5 for a day's work.
They are slender and agile, able to maneuver through narrow mine crevices with the risk of low oxygen levels and potential burial under loose soil. The majority of coal mining in India occurs in Meghalaya state in the northeastern region, which boasts some of the largest coal reserves in the country, totaling over 576 million metric tons.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned rat hole mining in the state in 2014 due to health and environmental risks, but it continues to be carried out illegally in isolated areas of the region. According to Hasina Kharbhih, founder of Impulse, a non-profit advocating for the safety of these workers, an estimated 225 "rat hole miners" died between 2007 and 2014, before the practice was banned.
Captured on January 31, 2013, the image shows a miner laboriously transporting a soaked coal load using a basket, while climbing hundreds of feet up on wooden slats that support the sides of a deep coal mine shaft near Rimbay village in the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images/File
In 2018, four years after the ban was implemented, another 15 died after becoming trapped in an illegal coal mine for two weeks.
"This number, however, is just the beginning," Kharbhih commented. "I am certain that if other regions where this occurred were thoroughly investigated, these numbers would increase."
The majority of the men brought in to rescue the laborers acknowledged that they were aware of the risks when they entered the profession.
Nasir Khan, a worker, expressed his surprise at gaining respect from his job, which he had always feared would endanger his life. In contrast, retired judge B.P. Katoki, who established the tribunal that prohibited rat mining in Meghalaya, warned against normalizing such a perilous profession in India.
Already forgotten
"It was a final attempt to save the lives of 41 individuals, so one could argue that it was justified," he stated to CNN. "However, that doesn't mean we should endorse the practice. It has serious implications."
The workers in Uttarakhand will receive 50,000 rupees ($600) as a token of appreciation announced by Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. However, some "rat miners" have not yet received details about the compensation and feel unrecognized and unrewarded by the authorities despite the media attention.
Barely two hours after the rescue of the men, an Uttarakhand government official shared a list of 90 individuals who participated in the rescue effort on a media WhatsApp group. Notably absent from the list were the names of the 12 "rat miners" who risked their lives to make the crucial breakthrough.
Mohammad Irshad Ansari, one of the "rat miner" workers, commented, "This doesn't come as a surprise to me. A laborer is and will always be viewed as just that - a laborer. Regardless of our contributions, our poverty defines us."
CNN has contacted the Uttarakhand government for comment about the compensation.
On November 28, 2023, a worker who was trapped in the collapsed tunnel site in Uttarkashi, located in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, is examined after being rescued. - Uttarkashi District Information/Reuters
Upon returning home to northern Uttar Pradesh, Monu Kumar was greeted with a hero's welcome. "There was music playing, we were given garlands, and my family and neighbors distributed 30 kilograms of sweets to everyone," he shared.
"People (in the village) are saying that we did so much, put our life on the line, but we did not get anything in return."
Unlike anything we have seen
The "rat miners" had to maneuver through a narrow 80-centimeter (2.6 feet) diameter pipe, spending hours crouched in a small space and using their bare hands to dig through the final 12 meters (about 40 feet) of rubble to reach the trapped workers. Khan described the experience as "unlike anything we have ever seen before."
The debris in the pipe was more than just rocks and stone; it also contained steel pipes, water, and ropes. Many tools were utilized to carefully remove these items," he explained. Two "rat miners" took turns going into the pipe for four-hour shifts, with one cutting the stone and the other removing the debris.
"It was difficult. It was risky," said Kumar. "There is no doubt about that."
Officials gather at the entrance of the Silkyara tunnel during the rescue operation on November 28, 2023.
Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images
Ansari is determined to continue rescuing more men if needed, but Khans family has advised him to stop due to the low pay and high risk. Even after working in the industry for thirty years, he still cannot afford to send his three children to school.
"This work is seasonal, unavailable during the summer months due to oxygen access issues and in monsoons due to unsafe water," he explained. "With only four months of work each year, how can I afford to send my children to school? I never went to school, and neither will they."
Kumar is skeptical that the media attention will be sustained.
"Soon, these calls will stop coming," he said. "No one is going to remember us."
