41 workers finally see light at the end of Uttarkashi tunnel after 17 long days

After a wait of 17 days, all 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi were finally rescued on Tuesday evening, November 28, reported India Today.

All the workers have been taken to a nearby medical facility in Chinyalisaur for check-ups.

After repeated attempts since the workers got trapped in the under-construction tunnel on November 12, the rescue personnel, on Tuesday evening (7.05 pm) broke through the rubble to get to the chamber that had the workers trapped.

The rescue

• The National Disaster Relief Force's (NDRF) three teams, along with the State Disaster Relief Force carried out the rescue of the workers.
• The remaining workers are being taken out, as CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and MoS VK Singh will be welcoming them accompanied by their family members.

• After that they will be given warm clothes and blankets, considering the temperature difference, reported India Today. The temperature inside was reportedly 30 degrees Celsius and it is around 8 degrees Celsius outside in the Himalayan state.
• The road to the hospital has been sanitised and will be the 'Green Corridor'.

Drilling complete

• A senior Uttarakhand state official at the site, on Tuesday, told the Press Trust of India, that the drilling was complete.
• The last leg of the drilling was done manually using the rat hole mining method.
• “Our worker brothers will be taken out soon,” said Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. He also added that work on laying 800 mm pipes to pull out the workers was complete.

ALSO READ: What's the rat-hole mining technique used to rescue trapped workers in Uttarkashi tunnel?

The trapped workers belong to Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam.

What next?

• A temporary hospital, armed with medics, doctors and medical equipment had also been set up inside the tunnel.
• The rescued workers will be taken to a nearby makeshift hospital in Chinyalisaur (35 kilometres from Silkyara) as 41 ambulances have been at the site for days now.
• If need be, the workers could also be rushed to AIIMS Rishikesh (148 kilometres from Silkyara), PTI reported.

The accident

• Following a landslide on November 12, 41 workers working inside the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel on the new Char Dham Highway Project, were trapped.
• Soon after, rescue work started to get to the workers.
• The drilling process faced an obstacle on Wednesday, November 22 night when iron rods impeded the American-made Auger machine's drilling progress.
• In the meantime, a wider pipe, with an endoscopic flexi camera, provided crucial visuals of the trapped workers on Wednesday, November 22.
• After repeated obstructions and snags in the machine, authorities chalked out detailed six rescue plans on November 24.
• The six synchronised plans included:
  • Vertical drilling
  • Sideways drilling
  • Drift technology
  • Rescue tunnel
  • Vertical drilling at Barkot-end, and
  • Horizontal drilling

Who is involved in the rescue?

• The rescue mission involves a coordinated effort from various agencies, including the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), THDC India Ltd, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL), National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL).
• The Indian Army is also actively monitoring the progress.