Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Trapped workers safe; oxygen, food supplied
All 40 workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand are safe and being provided oxygen, food, and water through the debris. However, state disaster response official Durgesh Rathodi told AFP that more rubble was coming down as rescuers tried to remove the obstruction. Since the under-construction tunnel collapsed on Sunday, emergency teams, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), have been working to rescue the trapped workers.
Trapped workers safe, communication established: Uttarkashi circle officer
Providing details on the rescue operation, Uttarkashi Circle Officer Prashant Kumar revealed on Monday that communication was established with the people trapped inside the tunnel on Sunday. "We have moved around 15 meters inside the tunnel, and around 35 meters are still to be covered. We are making our way sideways to go inside the tunnel," Kumar told the news agency ANI.
Check out Kumar's full remarks here
Uttarakhand CM to visit tunnel collapse site today
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami confirmed on Monday morning that he was on his way to visit the collapse site to inspect the ongoing relief and rescue operations. "Removal of debris continues to remove workers trapped in tunnel, contact with workers trapped in tunnel via walkie-talkie," the state CM said in a Facebook post in Hindi.
How did the workers get trapped
The incident took place around 4:00am on Sunday when a 150-meter-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed, trapping the workers. The tunnel will connect Silkyara to Dandalgaon in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district once completed. It is being built as part of the Char Dham Road Project and will cut the distance between Uttarkashi and Yamunotri Dham by 26 kilometers.
Similar collapse reported at Edit-II tunnel in August
Sunday's development comes just a few months after 114 workers were trapped inside the "Edit-II" tunnel of the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail line project in August after flooding from a nearby stream. Earlier this year, authorities also evacuated hundreds of people from their homes in Joshimath after cracks started to appear in buildings in the major tourist and pilgrim destination
