Mission Raniganj Review

And so began .

For his bravery, Jaswant Singh Gill was awarded the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, India’s highest civilian gallantry award for rescue operations. To this day, the rescue of 65 miners from the flooded Raniganj coal mine remains one of the greatest and most audacious mining rescues in world history. They called it a miracle. But miracles, as Gill proved, are just stubborn men who refuse to let go. Mission Raniganj

"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." And so began

On the surface, panic erupted. The capsule was stuck on a rock spur. If they pulled harder, the cable would snap. If they lowered it, the man would drown in the rising water below. They called it a miracle

Finally, after 65 harrowing lifts—over 55 hours of non-stop work—only one man remained. Gill himself.

On the third lift, the cable frayed. On the eleventh lift, the winch motor overheated and smoked. On the thirty-third lift, a young miner panicked, thrashed inside the capsule, and nearly knocked it off its guide rail. Gill, from below, reached up and held the rail steady with his bare hands until the man calmed down.

He had built the rescue capsule himself in a local workshop. It was a narrow steel cylinder, open at the top, with a simple latch. It was never tested.