Uttarakhand Tunnel Collapse: Contact Established With Trapped Workers As Rescue Ops Continue

Rescue and relief operation is being carried out at war footing to reach the 40 trapped labourer inside the under-construction tunnel that collapsed on Sunday in Uttarakhand.

Rescue operation underway after an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand with 40 workers trapped inside.

Source : PTI

Relief and rescue operation is underway at war footing at Silkyara Tunnel on Uttarkashi-Yamunotri road in Uttarakhand after 40 labourers were trapped following the collapse of the under-construction tunnel. Approximately 30-35 metres part of the tunnel has been broken and work is being carried out at great speed, the rescue and relief workers said. 

On Sunday, a part of an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi after which a rescue operation was launched assisted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police. 

Superintendent of Police (Uttarkashi) Arpan Yaduvanshi, quoting officials from National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, initially said that 36 workers were trapped inside the tunnel. 

#WATCH | Uttarakhand | Relief and rescue work underway on war footing in Silkyara Tunnel located on Uttarkashi-Yamnotri road. pic.twitter.com/sn9EYLiV4M

— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 13, 2023

Later, the District Emergency Operation Centre released a list of 40 labourers trapped inside who belong from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

The rescue operation has been going on for more than 12 hours but without any breakthrough so far, although the trapped workers have sent out signals that indicate they are safe, an official at the site said, as per a PTI report. 

Around 160 workers are engaged in relief and rescue operations trying to reach the trapped labourers with the help of drilling equipment and excavators, the District Emergency Operation Centre said.

"40 people are trapped inside the tunnel. All are safe, we have provided oxygen and water to them," Prashant Kumar, Circle Officer of Uttarkashi told news agency ANI on Monday.

"The present situation is that yesterday we established communication with the people trapped inside the tunnel. We have moved around 15 metres inside the tunnel, and around 35 metres are still to be covered," he said. 

#WATCH | Uttarakhand | On Uttarkashi Tunnel accident, Prashant Kumar, Circle Officer of Uttarkashi says, "40 people are trapped inside the tunnel. All are safe, we have provided oxygen and water to them..."

"The present situation is, that yesterday we established communication… pic.twitter.com/KWBVtN0ks8

— ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2023

"Everyone is safe, we have provided oxygen and water to them. We are making our way sideways to go inside the tunnel. After establishing communication, around 40 people are trapped inside," Kumar added. 

"The work of mucking is underway. Mucking is being done with the loader and excavator...Approximately 30-35 metres part of the tunnel has been broken. The incident happened around 5:30 am. We have information of around 40-45 people being trapped. Everyone is safe,” Prantiya Rakshak Dal (PRD) jawan Ranveer Singh Chauhan told the news agency. 

"We have been able to communicate with the 40 people who are trapped inside the tunnel. They have informed us that all of them are safe," an official said. 

The collapsed section of the tunnel is a part of the Char Dham all-weather road project.