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Tribune News Service
Amritsar, February 27
Yet again, nobility has been added to the name of a mining engineer from the city.
Jaswant Singh Gill, former engineer-in-chief of Coal India Limited, has been included in the Limca Book of Record for saving 65 lives. Adopting a novel technique, he organised a most successful rescue operation in the history of coal mining, little knowing that his idea would lead him to recognition.
The incident dates back to November 16, 1989. Around 220 miners had gone in the mine when an abandoned pit accidentally broke and millions of gallons of water from the upper seam rushed into the pit at a depth of around 110 feet.
As many as 65 miners got trapped in the flooded coal mine in Mahabir Colliery, Raniganj, West Bengal.
Nobody dared to enter the uneven borehole, which could collapse anytime, as the water in the pit was rising steadily. Besides, oxygen was going to deplete. Despite knowing these facts, he risked his life to undertake the daunting task of entering the mine to reach the trapped miners.
He got a special capsule fabricated with the 21 inch dia hole. Gill said, “It was 2.30 am on the intervening night of November 15-16 when the steel capsule was lowered into the bore hole so that I could reach the trapped miners underneath. Braving the adverse circumstances, I entered the mine, took the first man I could lay my hands on, put him into the capsule, locked it and tapped the signal to lift the capsule.”
His act of bravery is celebrated as Rescue Day by Coal India Limited every year on November 16. To recognise his accomplishment, the Limca Book of Records has specially certified this operation to be a national record in the history of coal mining.
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