Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue: Nearing breakthrough to evacuate trapped workers, says NDMA

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has said that the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation is “near a breakthrough but not there yet” as 2 metres of digging are still left. Earlier today, pipe-laying work to rescue the 41 trapped workers had been completed after 17 days of intense efforts. “We are near a breakthrough but not yet there. Manual work has carried on and we have reached 58 metres. The debris had been cut and the work was going on the entire night. Our rat miners, experts and Army engineers have been able to take it to 58 metres and the pipe has been pushed with the help of the auger machine…” Lieutenant General (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain, Member, NDMA said.

Considering the gravity of the situation and keeping the workers’ safety in mind, NDMA is not in a hurry, Hasnain said. He added, “We are at 58 metres, we are hoping that after 2 metres, we can say that it has passed through. The trapped workers inside have said they can hear noises of work being done and an estimate can be made where the tunnel will pass through.”

The time taken to evacuate each worker will be 3-5 minutes while the entire operation will take about 3-4 hours to conclude. “Three teams of NDRF will go inside the tunnel to organise the evacuation. SDRF will provde support. Paramedics will also go inside the tunnel at the time of evacuation,” Hasnain said.

Preparations at the Community Health Center in Chinyalisaur where the workers will be treated following their rescue have also been completed. “The rescued workers will be brought here only if medical treatment requirements cannot be met in Uttarkashi District hospital. At AIIMS Rishikesh, there are 20 beds in Trauma Centre and a few ICU beds. If the workers are brought here, they can be given good medical care. A team of doctors has been constituted to be sent to Uttarkashi, if ordered by the state government,” AIIMS Rishikesh Assistant Professor Dr Narinder Kumar said.