Relatives of the 41 workers who are trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand have been advised to prepare themselves as rescuers have cleared the final portion of debris. Officials have instructed the families, who have been anxiously waiting outside the collapsed tunnel, to keep the workers’ clothes and bags ready. After the rescue, the workers will be transported to a hospital in Uttarkashi, where a special ward with 41 beds has been prepared for them.
The families are eagerly awaiting the safe return of their loved ones as the rescue operation nears its end. Officials have mentioned that one family member will accompany each worker in the ambulance during their journey to the hospital.
Yesterday, a skilled team of workers began manually drilling the collapsed tunnel, following the removal of parts of a broken drill from the tunnel. “Rat miners,” experienced laborers accustomed to drilling narrow shafts as part of a primitive method of coal extraction, carried out the manual drilling.
Earlier, rescue operations were suspended for three days due to a malfunction in a US-made auger machine that was being used to drill and insert pipes into the rubble, creating an escape passage for the workers.
When asked if navigating through the pipes would be challenging for the workers, an official stated that they would be provided with a helmet, uniform, mask, and glasses.
Over the past two weeks, multiple attempts to rescue the workers have been unsuccessful due to the challenging topography and the nature of rocks in the area.
Officials have reported that the trapped workers are mentally stable and physically fit, despite being trapped for over two weeks. An official stated, “They are adequately clothed, and when we speak to them, they express their determination to walk out on their own. That’s the level of mental strength they possess.”
The tunnel where the incident occurred is part of the Char Dham project, a national infrastructure initiative aimed at improving connectivity to the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.
