Mission Raniganj Link

Gill shouted down the line: "Don't sing. Dig. Build a platform of coal bags. Every inch above the water is life."

And so began .

The second problem was physics. The drill bit was designed for coal, not the jagged, waterlogged sandstone above the mine. Every two feet, the bit shattered. Engineers told Gill it would take 10 days. The miners had 48 hours of oxygen left. Mission Raniganj

The first problem was time. The trapped miners had only flashlights and a single telephone line that still crackled with static. Their voices, relayed up, were haunted: "The water is rising. We can see the ceiling getting closer. We're singing hymns."

The crew, sweating through their shirts, manually rotated the huge winch. The capsule scraped free. Sixty seconds later, the old man’s head emerged into the sunlight. He was alive. Gill shouted down the line: "Don't sing

"Who goes first?" the officials asked.

The owner laughed. "How do you get them out? Drill a straw from 150 feet above? They’ll drown before you hit rock." Every inch above the water is life

Gill looked at the massive drilling rigs sitting idle in the yard. "Yes," he said. "That's exactly what we’ll do."

Gill took over. He personally adjusted the drilling pressure, ignoring the screaming warnings of the rig operators. He introduced a radical idea—pumping bentonite slurry (liquid clay) into the hole to seal the cracks and stop the water from flooding the air pocket. It was a gamble. Too little, and the mine floods. Too much, and the men are buried in mud.

"This isn't a grave," Gill said, slamming his fist on the map. "The upper shaft is dry. There’s an air pocket. They are alive."

He was lowered into the dark hole. The capsule scraped against the jagged rock walls. Water dripped onto his face. After 150 feet, he popped out into the air pocket. The scene was straight out of a nightmare. Sixty-five gaunt, terrified men stood waist-deep in freezing water, holding each other for warmth, their eyes wide with disbelief.