New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will on Friday meet the ‘rat-hole miners’ at his residence, who played a crucial part in the rescue of 41 trapped workers from Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. According to the Chief Minister’s Office, Kejriwal will be meeting the miners at his residence in the evening.
The officials said that the rat-hole miners, who were part of the rescue operations work in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi collapsed tunnel also worked for the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). The rat-hole miners played a key role in the rescue operation of the trapped workers in the Silkyara tunnel.
The 41 trapped workers were rescued safely on Tuesday night after 16 days of multiple mega agency operations. The rat miners were engaged to dig through the debris of the collapsed part of the tunnel on Monday.
Relief and rescue work had entered the 16th day on Tuesday, and was being carried out by scientists, international experts, NDRF, SDRF, BRO on a war footing. On November 12, the under-construction tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi leaving 41 workers trapped. Later rescue operation was started which was led by NDRF and others. On November 28, On the 17th day of the operation, all 41 workers who were stranded inside the the tunnel were safely evacuated.