Objective  In China, mining operations are progressively extending to greater depths, with annual tunneling of mine roadways and tunnels nationwide reaching nearly 20000 km. In this context, mine (tunnel) accidents occur frequently, threatening the safety of state property and people’s lives. To meet the great demand for emergency rescue in mine (tunnel) accidents, drilling rescue, emerging as a hot topic, has been employed as an effective approach.

Methods  Techniques and equipment for efficient and safe drilling of surface and underground (tunnel) rescue boreholes were investigated by centering on two main roadmaps: (1) surface rescue equipment – forming techniques for search and rescue boreholes-engineering trials, and (2) underground rescue equipment-forming techniques for horizontal rescue boreholes-engineering trials. Consequently, the technical challenges in the efficient drilling and forming of deep rescue boreholes have been addressed by developing (1) a high-power truck-mounted surface rescue drilling rig, which allows for self-adaptive drilling, and a rapid rod changing device, (2) efficient drilling techniques of three-stage one-trip drilling for surface search boreholes and the gas-liquid dual-circulation drilling for rescue boreholes, as well as associated drilling tools, and (3) casing welding robots. These techniques and devices can meet the need for efficient forming of search and rescue boreholes. Furthermore, the technical difficulties in efficiently breaking rocks under complex collapse conditions and in borehole protection while drilling were resolved by developing underground modular casing while drilling (CwD) rigs for large-diameter boreholes, multi-functional operation vehicles, belt conveyors, rescue capsules, and a drilling site protection system. These devices enable the rapid construction of horizontal rescue passages.

Results and Conclusions  Two sets of integrated drilling rescue equipment have been developed: a surface truck-mounted drilling rig and an underground CwD rig. Furthermore, two rescue borehole drilling techniques have been devised, i.e., efficient forming techniques for surface vertical rescue boreholes and underground horizontal large-diameter rescue boreholes. These sets of equipment and techniques constitute a technology and equipment system for surface and underground joint drilling rescue. They have been subjected to joint commissioning, engineering tests, and integration trials at sites in Wuxiang of Shanxi Province, Xuzhou of Jiangsu Province, Shangluo of Shaanxi Province, and Yuxi of Yunnan Province, verifying their reliability, applicability, and safety. These techniques and equipment will support mine rescue in China.