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Lifesavers · Delhi

The last twelve metres

When the big drilling machines stopped in the Silkyara tunnel, the final stretch came down to human hands. Vaqeel Hasan and his team crawled into a narrow pipe and cut through the debris to reach 41 trapped workers.

Vaqeel Hasanवकील हसन
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Home
Khajuri Khas, Delhi
Rescue site
Silkyara–Barkot tunnel, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand
Skill
Manual pipe-jacking and trenchless work
Honour
Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak, Series 2024 (conferred 5 August 2026)
41workers brought out
17days trapped
12members in the manual team

When the machines stopped

Vaqeel Hasan’s story belongs to the moment when the big machines stopped and the work came down to human skill, patience and willingness to take a risk. In November 2023, after a collapse in the Silkyara–Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi, 41 workers were trapped inside for 17 days.

Many technical options were tried. In the final stage, a team of experienced manual pipe-jacking workers was called in to clear debris from inside a narrow pipeline. Hasan, who ran Rockwell Enterprises in Delhi, was one of the team’s leading faces.

Twelve metres by hand

Indian Express and India Today report that a 12-member team played the decisive role in cutting through and removing the last roughly 12 metres of debris by hand. The work went on for about 26–27 hours without a break, and on 28 November 2023 the way to the trapped workers opened.

Recognition for the team

His story stayed in the news after the rescue. In February 2024 his house in Khajuri Khas was demolished in a Delhi Development Authority anti-encroachment drive, which drew public and political controversy.

For this archive, the key fact is the rescue itself. On 25 January 2025 the President approved the Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak for the 12 members of the team, and on 5 August 2026 Union Minister Nitin Gadkari presented the medals, certificates and miniature medals in New Delhi. According to PIB, each recipient also received a monetary allowance of ₹2 lakh.

Sources