New Delhi: In Uttarakhand, all 41 workers who were trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi district have been evacuated safely. The rescued workers and their families expressed gratitude to the central and state governments for the safe rescue of their loved ones from the tunnel.
In the last stage of the rescue operation, Rat-hole mining experts were pressed into service. They began manual drilling through the rubble and the Auger machine pushed 800mm horizontal pipes in the tunnel. All these workers are from Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam and Himachal Pradesh. They have been trapped since the 12th of this month inside the collapsed tunnel. All the workers involved in the incident are safe and are being shifted to the Community Health Centre in Chinyalisour. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister of State General VK Singh remained present at the incident site for the last few days and monitored the rescue operation. The Center provided full support for the rescue operation, and the Prime Minister was kept informed throughout.
During the entire rescue operation, essential items including food, water, medicines, and oxygen were provided to the workers with the help of dedicated four and six-inch pipelines. It may be recalled that various agencies of the Central and State Government took action on a war footing and left no stone unturned to rescue the stranded workers.
Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari expressed happiness over the successful evacuation of all the trapped workers. In a social media post, Mr Gadkari said that this was a well-coordinated effort by multiple agencies, marking one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years. He added that various departments and agencies complemented each other despite facing numerous challenges.
