All 41 workers rescued from collapsed Silkyara tunnel
PM lauds rescuers, workers after successful operation
Uttarkashi: Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakand’s Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair over almost 17 days.
Union minister V K Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed the workers as National Disaster Response Force men brought them out through a steel chute that lined a 60-metre escape passage.
An ambulance with the first of the 41 workers left the mouth of the tunnel around 8 pm, about an hour after a group of rat-hole mining experts dug through the last stretch of rubble.
There was hugging and cheers as the ordeal ended. Outside the tunnel some people chanted “Har Har Mahadev” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai” Ambulances which had lined up at the tunnel ferried the workers to a community health centre where a special 41-bed ward had been set up.
Before this, the workers were given a quick medical checkup as they emerged out of the steel pipe.
A portion of the tunnel collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit for the workers who were inside.
Food, medicines and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the rubble of the collapsed portion.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the successful operation to rescue the workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand, asserting that it has made everyone emotional.
In a post on X soon after the workers were brought out of the tunnel, Modi saluted the spirit of people involved in the operation and said their courage and resolve have given a new life to them.
“Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork,” he said.
Addressing the 41 rescued workers, he said their courage and patience inspire everyone as he wished them good health and well-being.
“It is a matter of great satisfaction that these friends of ours will meet their dear ones after a long wait,” he said, asserting that the patience and courage of their family members cannot be praised enough.
