Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE updates: PM speaks to rescued workers over phone; Rat-hole miners hailed as hero

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Catch the latest updates on the Uttarkashi tunnel rescue work hereMahindra & Mahindra Chairman Anand Mahindra praised the 'rathole miners' who could save the 41 trapped labourers inside Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel. Mahindra wrote, "And after all the sophisticated drilling equipment, it’s the humble ‘rathole miners’ who make the vital breakthrough! It’s a heartwarming reminder that at the end of the day, heroism is most often a case of individual effort & sacrifice".Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said none of the 41 labourers rescued from an under-construction road tunnel in Uttarkashi district was in a critical condition."All of them were healthy.

They crawled out of the passage rather than being carried on stretchers," he said.Feroze Qureshi and Monu Kumar, experts in the rat-hole mining technique, were the first to meet the 41 labourers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel. Qureshi from Delhi and Kumar from Uttar Pradesh were part of a 12-member team of rat-hole mining technique experts who were called on Sunday to do the drilling.Qureshi said as soon they reached the last portion of the rubble, the labourers thanked and hugged him.

"They (the labourers) gave me almonds and asked my name. Soon, our other colleagues joined us," he saidGlobal media hailed the Uttarkashi tunnel's rescue operation.