Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue: 41 trapped workers evacuated after 17 days

41 workers who were trapped in a tunnel in India’s Uttarakhand region were successfully evacuated after 17 days on Tuesday.

All 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand since November 12, have been successfully rescued by NDRF, and SDRF teams.

The workers were pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes which rescuers previously pushed through dirt and rocks.

Rescue teams inserted pipes into dug-out areas and welded them together so the workers could be brought out on wheeled stretchers.

The evacuation process began at 8 pm local time when the first worker was brought out on Tuesday.

The rescue mission was carried out by skilled “rat miners” who manually dug through the last 12 metres following a setback with the drilling machine attempting to create a wider opening.

Rescue teams inserted pipes into dug-out areas and welded them together through which the trapped workers were brought out on wheeled stretchers.

 

The workers got trapped on November 12, when a landslide caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building in Uttarakhand state to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance.

The trapped workers survived on food and oxygen supplied through narrow steel pipes.

As reported, the tunnel the workers were building was designed as part of the Chardham all-weather road, which will connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites.