Miners praised for tunnel rescue tell of harsh working conditions

The "rat hole" miners who rescued 41 Indian workers on Tuesday after they had been trapped in a mountain tunnel for more than two weeks said the operation involved 26 hours of digging by hand, as they sought to highlight the harsh conditions and lack of dignity faced by manual labourers in India.

- Aakash Hassan

Munna Qureshi, 29, was the first of the 12-man team to break through a wall of rubble and lay eyes on the 41 workers who had been trapped in the collapsed tunnel in the Himalayan mountains since 12 November.

It was for his expertise in the method of rat-hole mining, which involves making narrow tunnels underground in often high-risk settings, that he and his team were called upon for the rescue after a drill broke down.

"It was a larger-than-life situation and we were driven by the passion to save the lives of people who work like us," Qureshi said. "It became our mission to bring them back alive.

We took this as a rare chance to get our work recognised. I feel that the purpose of my life has been fulfilled."