In a dramatic alliance, six highly skilled ‘rat-hole’ miners from UP’s Jhansi have teamed up with the Indian Army on the mission to rescue 41 trapped workers from the depths of Uttarkashi’s Silkyara tunnel. Renowned for their unparalleled expertise in navigating and digging through confined spaces, these miners have been tasked with manually burrowing through the remaining 10-12 meters of rubble that separate the workers and freedom. By Monday evening — day 16 of the operation — the miners had already successfully excavated nearly a metre within just two hours.