Nagar Kurnool : A team of expert rat miners, renowned for their successful rescue operation during the Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel collapse in Uttarkashi last year, arrived at Domalapenta on Tuesday to assist in the ongoing rescue efforts at the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) tunnel collapse site.

Rat-hole mining, a technique involving the manual extraction of coal through narrow pits, was banned in 2014 due to its hazardous nature. However, when advanced machinery failed to free workers trapped in an Uttarkashi tunnel for 16 days, these expert miners were brought in, using hand tools to successfully rescue the stranded individuals.

The current collapse, which occurred on 22 February, has left eight workers trapped, including two engineers and two technicians. Rescue teams continue to work against time to bring them to safety.