Mission Raniganj -

The plan was insane. Drill a 40-inch-wide vertical shaft through solid rock, directly into the air pocket where the men were huddled. Then, lower a steel "rescue capsule"—a crude, cylindrical cage barely big enough for one man—and haul them up one by one.

A voice crackled over the telephone line. Weak, but unmistakable: "We see light. A hole. We see the sky." Mission Raniganj

Cheers erupted. But Gill didn’t smile. The hardest part was just beginning. The plan was insane