10 days since Uttarkashi tunnel collapse, first images of 41 trapped workers surface

The initial visuals of the 41 workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district surfaced on Tuesday (November 21) morning. The workers have been trapped inside the tunnel for the past 10 days.

What happened

On Sunday, November 12, a landslide near the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand left 41 workers trapped inside. The landslide occurred around 5 am, causing a section approximately 200 meters from the opening to collapse.

Workers engaged in a highway project were inside the tunnel when the incident occurred. The collapse took place 270 meters below the surface, leaving the workers stranded in the 2,340-meter-deep tunnel.

Latest updates

• On Monday, November 20, rescuers pushed a six-inch-wide pipeline through the debris of the collapsed tunnel, enabling the delivery of increased food supplies and providing real-time visuals of the 41 workers who had been trapped for 10 days.

• Utilising an endoscopic camera dispatched through the alternative 6-inch food pipeline, visuals were recorded. The camera's purpose is to observe the trapped workers and understand the internal layout of the tunnel.

• The video depicts workers donned in yellow and white helmets receiving food items sent through the pipeline and engaging in conversation with one another. This provides significant relief to the families of the workers.

• Anshu Manish Khalkho, Director of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), earlier mentioned that cameras would be inserted through the pipeline to monitor the workers' condition.
• He also referred to it as the "first breakthrough" at the site, stating, "We have sent the pipe 53 meters to the other side of the rubble, and the trapped workers can hear and sense our presence."
• Through this six-inch pipeline, trapped workers were provided with warm khichdi.
• There is a likelihood that rescue authorities will commence vertical drilling on Tuesday afternoon to access the workers who have been trapped inside the Uttarkashi tunnel for the past 10 days, totaling over 240 hours.