All 41 trapped workers rescued in Uttarakhand ‘God heard us’: Relatives

In a remarkable feat, the 400-hour ordeal of 41 construction workers trapped in the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel here reached a positive conclusion on Tuesday evening. The unprecedented rescue operation, a first of its kind in the country, saw all workers evacuated safely, bringing relief and cheer all around

The rescue effort, involving over 200 experts from various government and private agencies as well as rat-hole miners from Uttar Pradesh lasted 17 days. The workers had got trapped on November 12. The workers, who are reported to be in good health, will undergo medical observation as a precaution.

The multi-agency operation included the intricate task of drilling through rubble and iron bars, showcasing the collaborative efforts of professionals from India and abroad. A steel chute, lining a 60-metre escape passage, facilitated the workers’ safe exit. The rescue met with applause and patriotic chants from onlookers.

Union Minister Gen VK Singh (retd) and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami personally welcomed the rescued workers as National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel brought them out. The first worker, Vijay Kumar, emerged to a cheering crowd, marking the beginning of a sequence where each worker was safely pulled out on a wheeled stretcher.

Inside a makeshift hospital set up within the tunnel, a team of doctors awaited the rescued workers for immediate medical examination.

The workers were trapped since Diwali morning (November 12) due to a landslide that caused a section of the 4.5-kilometre tunnel to collapse just 200 metres from the entrance.

A crucial breakthrough came when rat-miners from Uttar Pradesh played a pivotal role in manual drilling after a US-made auger machine faced technical issues. The rat-miners successfully completed the drilling, creating a passage through the rubble, allowing for the workers’ evacuation. The NDRF team then executed the evacuation process using specially designed wheeled stretchers, with ambulances ready to transport them to a medical facility in Chinyalisaur.

Dhami, during a media interaction after the operation, said he had fulfilled the task assigned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who emphasised on providing medical assistance to all workers and arranging for their return home. The workers will remain under medical observation and a decision regarding their return home will be made based on consultation with doctors.

Despite a temporary setback on Tuesday evening when muck obstructed the main pipe, causing a two-hour delay, the expert team persevered, successfully inserting a 900 mm pipe through the rubble to ensure the smooth evacuation of the trapped workers.

As the trapped workers emerged from the Uttarkashi tunnel on Tuesday night, some with smiling faces and others looking grateful and exhausted at the end of the 17-day ordeal, the nation took a collective sigh of relief.Anxious relatives who had been camping in the area were emotional as they were united with them after days of uncertainty. 

Loud cheers and slogans erupted outside the tunnel as people greeted the ambulances that took the workers to community health centres while locals distributed streets. Back home, many said they will celebrate Diwali now as the shadow of despair that had fallen on the families disappeared.

“Finally, God heard us. My brother could be rescued. I am with him in an ambulance on the way to hospital,” Sunil, who was camping outside the tunnel in Uttarkashi, told PTI in a choked voice.

Sunil’s brother Anil was among the three youths from Kherabera in Jharkhand who were trapped in the tunnel.

“All are fine and healthy. I have spoken to a few of them,” said a rescue worker as media persons who have staked out at the site for over two weeks and others rushed to ask about the well-being of the rescued workers.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union minister V K Singh welcomed the 41 workers with garlands, shook hands and embraced them, while the rescue teams and officials clapped.

Back home, families of the workers, most of whom are from Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, were glued to television and their phones after the news emerged that the workers could be recused any time.

“It is a like a new birth from them,” said a relative of Dhiren and Benudhar in the Mayurbhanj district in Odisha.

In Khirabeda, villagers distributed ‘laddoos’ after the successful rescue. Rajendra, Sukhram and Anil, all in their early 20s, from the village, were among those trapped inside the tunnel for 17 days.

Sukhram’s sister Khushboo said that everyone in their village was celebrating.

According to Ram Kumar Bediya, a villager, a group of 13 people, all between 18 and 23, had left Khirabeda on November 1 to work at the tunnel.

When the disaster struck, three of them were working inside.