The rat miners who made the breakthrough in Uttarakhand freeing 41 miners trapped in a tunnel for 17 days, had "beaten expectations," said Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, a member of NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority). "I thought they would progress at the rate of two to three meters in 18/20 hours. But they managed to do 10 meters in less than 18 hours," he told NDTV.