New Delhi: The 41 labourers who had been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi for 17 days were successfully evacuated on Tuesday after continuous efforts, which encountered several obstacles over the weeks. Amidst cheers and hugs, the first of the 41 workers left the tunnel around 8 pm, following the clearing of the last stretch of rubble by a group of rat-hole mining experts. Outside the tunnel, people chanted “Har Har Mahadev” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai” in celebration of the successful rescue, news agency PTI reported.
Ambulances, waiting at the tunnel, ferried the rescued workers to a community health centre where a special 41-bed ward had been prepared for their arrival. Prior to their transport, the workers underwent a quick medical checkup as they emerged from the steel pipe.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephonic conversation with the workers, news agency PTI reported.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met the workers rescued from inside the Silkyara tunnel. Union Minister V K Singh was also present with him.
Earlier, the Uttarakhand CM posted on X, "There has been a great success in the ongoing rescue operation in the Silkyara Tunnel, the work of pipe pushing has been done across the debris. Now preparations have been started to evacuate the workers safely."
Ambulances were seen taking the workers via a green corridor to reach Silkyara Hospital.
A 41-bed hospital was readied at the Community Health Centre in Chinyalisaur for the care of the rescued labourers. All the hospitals in the district as well as AIIMS, Rishikesh have been kept on high alert, reported news agency PTI. A team of 15 doctors, including chest specialists, was deployed at the site. Twelve ambulances were on standby at the spot, and the plan was to keep a fleet of 40 ready, according to PTI.
Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.), Member, NDMA, shared insights into the post-rescue plans, stating that in the morning, the Chinook helicopter will be able to transport all of the workers to Rishikesh AIIMS and they are expected to be kept for about 48 to 72 hours under observation to make sure that there is nothing secondary which emerges after they have come out from this confinement for the last 17 days.
Rescue efforts at the tunnel encountered a hurdle after the auger machine broke down forcing rescuers to first pull back the blades of the machine. A multi-way approach was then implemented in which work on six plans including vertical drilling and a sideways escape tunnel among others were thought of. Indian Amry joined in the operation and was tasked with manual drilling to reach the trapped labourers.
Senior police officers briefed the security personnel outside the tunnel to spring into action the moment workers started coming out of the escape passage being prepared for them. Pipes have been inserted up to 52 metres through the rubble at Silkyara tunnel, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Tuesday as efforts to rescue the 41 workers trapped there continued for the 17th day. The breakthrough point is 57 metres, he told reporters in Silkyara.
To speed up the process a skilled team of workers started removing the debris by hand with the rat-hole mining technique on Monday, while the auger machine was used to push the 800-mm diameter pipes through the rubble.
Earlier in the day, international expert Arnold Dix joined a priest praying at the site for the safe evacuation of the workers.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi once again called up Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take stock of the situation, the Chief Minister's office said.
The CMO in its statement also said quality food was being sent regularly to all the workers trapped inside. All the workers are also being kept in constant communication with doctors and psychiatrists and that continuous talks are also being held with the families of the workers trapped inside. CM Dhami informed that in addition to the communication setup established by SDRF, telephonic communication setup has also been established by BSNL.
Both horizontal and vertical drilling were employed to fasten the rescue work at the site. The last stretch, deemed critical, was tackled manually by the team of experts. This manual approach involved workers entering the escape passage with drills and gas-cutters to navigate obstacles like iron girders.
On November 12, the labourers were trapped after a portion of the under-constructed tunnel, part of the ambitious Char Dham all-weather road project of the central government, collapsed about 30 km from the district headquarters of Uttarkashi.