When the dust settled, a grim number emerged: 65 miners were trapped. Not in a cave, but in a watery tomb. Three shifts of workers, including a night shift that had been catching sleep in a side chamber, were now sealed off by a wall of murky, ice-cold water.
But one man refused to accept that verdict. 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." When the dust settled, a grim number emerged:
Gill shouted down the line: "Don't sing. Dig. Build a platform of coal bags. Every inch above the water is life." When the dust settled
