Bengal Workers Rescued From Uttarakhand Tunnel Meet Families, Govt Team To Take Them Back Home

Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue: The workers, who were trapped for 17 days, were airlifted to AIIMS, Rishikesh, for a health check-up after being kept under observation at a community health centre.

Tears of joy flowed through the eyes of the family members as they finally met the three labourers from West Bengal who were rescued along with 38 others from the collapsed under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. A Bengal government official said the workers were fine and not facing any health issues.

The workers, who were trapped for 17 days, were airlifted to AIIMS, Rishikesh, for a health check-up after being kept under observation at a community health centre in Chinyalisaur, the official told ABP Live.

"The workers are fine and have been taken to AIIMS Rishikesh for another round of health check-up. Their families members met them in the morning and are being taken to Rishikesh in buses," the official, Somnath Chakraborty, who is part of a team sent to bring the workers back to Bengal, said.

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The workers from Bengal who were trapped in the tunnel since November 12 have been identified as Manir Talukdar from Cooch Behar, Sevik Pakhera from Harinakhali and Jaidev Pramanik from Hooghly's Nimdangi.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the health centre in the morning and interacted with the labourers. He also handed a cheque worth Rs 1 lakh as aid to the family members of the workers. 

"The workers will be taken to Bengal from Rishikesh. Their release will depend on the doctor's report and will likely be brought back in one or two days," Chakraborty further said.

Professor Meenu Singh, executive director and CEO, AIIMS Rishikesh, said the blood pressure and other vitals of the workers were normal. "We have done some basic preliminary investigations just to look at their electrolytes and their other blood parameters. The report will be coming and we will also be doing their ECG, just to see if there is any effect on the heart," ANI quoted the AIIMS director as saying. 

A team of psychiatrists will also conduct a basic psychological assessment of the workers to gauge the tragedy's effect on them. "We will do a basic psychological assessment also so that we can follow it up later - whether this incident is having any effect on them on a long-term basis," Meenu Singh further said.