It was the most difficult 17 days for the 41 workers who were trapped inside the tunnel in Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand.

Even as rescuers mounted a massive operation outside to evacuate those trapped within the Silkyara tunnel, a remarkable, as yet untold story, was unfolding inside.

Unknown to many, the 41 workers, often with little food, disturbed sleep and bouts of anxiety, were actively contributing to rescue efforts to get them out.

The evacuation of the men began more than six hours after rescuers broke through the debris in the tunnel in Uttarakhand state, which caved in on November 12.

They were pulled out on wheeled stretchers through a 90 cm (3 feet) wide steel pipe, with the entire process being completed in about an hour.

As soon as the first workers came out of the tunnel, the rescue personnel and those at the site welcomed them with garlands, sweets, and cheers.

The family members and relatives of trapped workers in different parts of the country burst into joy and celebrated the moment like Diwali by bursting crackers. Many relatives, who had reached the site a couple of days after the incident and had been camping there since then, were finally reunited with their loved ones. Meanwhile, locals also erupted in jubilation at the tunnel site and were seen exchanging sweets as the trapped workers finally saw light at the end of the tunnel.

Elaborate preparations were made for the rescue. An Air Force Chinook chopper was standing by for emergencies and a green corridor was created to transfer the workers to the hospital in Chinyalisaur.

Last evening, "rat miners" - labourers who drill narrow shafts as part of a primitive and currently illegal method of coal extraction - were brought in to manually dig the rocks in the 12-metre last stretch after an American Augur drill had to be withdrawn after its blades got fouled up by the debris and iron rods.