Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates: Rescued workers undergo medical examination

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

Workers under observation: Uttarkashi DM

Following the successful extraction of the 41 labourers who had become trapped in the Silkyara tunnel, Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela declared on Wednesday that all workers are being monitored and that medical procedures are being followed.

“Based on the suggestion of the doctors, the workers are sent to high centres for further medical examination. Medical protocols are being followed and they’re under observation,” DM Ruhela said.

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Spanish envoy lauds Uttarkashi tunnel rescue

On the successful Silkyara tunnel rescue mission, Spain Ambassador to India Jose Maria Ridao Dominguez said, “It is immense happiness to know that all 41 people have been released and I congratulate all the people who worked on this difficult task.”

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Union minister slams opposition over Uttarkashi tunnel operation

Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways, General (retd.) VK Singh, retaliated against opposition leaders on Thursday by saying that rather than criticising the rescue efforts, they ought to have offered to help and contributed to the efforts of freeing the trapped workers from the Uttarkashi tunnel.
On Wednesday, after a two-week-long rescue operation, Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami were present at the tunnel site as the workers were successfully rescued.

“The Opposition would have raised questions had the rescue operation been completed in 10 days just as they would had it taken us 100 days to bring the workers out. They have nothing better to do. Why listen to what they are saying? I believe our Opposition leaders should come forward to help us in such efforts instead of raising questions,” he said

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Medical examination of 41 rescued workers underway

On Wednesday, workers who had been saved from the Silkyara tunnel were flown to AIIMS-Rishikesh for a medical examination. In a media statement, Prof Meenu Singh, Executive Director & CEO of AIIMS Rishikesh, stated that the staff were in good health and that the fundamental investigative work had been finished.
“They are quite normal, I won’t even call them patients. They are feeling quite normal, they are behaving very normally. Their blood pressure, vitals, oxygenation – everything is normal. We have done some basic preliminary investigations just to look at their electrolytes and their other blood parameters,” she said.

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Medical protocols are being followed: Dehradun DM

“All the workers have been brought to the wards. Medical protocols are being followed, and all the workers are being examined and they’re under observation,” Dehradun DM Sonika said.

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BJP leader praises Silkyara tunnel rescue operation

BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh praised PM Modi, the PMO, Union Minister General VK Singh and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami for the successful Silkyara tunnel rescue operation.

“The way 41 workers were rescued after 17 days, it is worth appreciating, importantly under the leadership of PM Modi, the PMO, Union Minister General VK Singh and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and their continuous presence there. I salute and thank NDRF, SDRF, several agencies, engineers, labourers and others involved in the operation,” he told the media.

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PM Modi became emotional during rescue effort: Anurag Thakur

Union Minister Anurag Thakur told the media that PM Narendra Modi was very emotional during a cabinet meeting during the rescue operation to evacuate the 41 trapped workers from a collapsed Uttarkashi tunnel.

“This matter (Uttarkashi tunnel rescue) did come before the cabinet and the Prime Minister was very emotional. The prayers of the whole of government and the entire country were with them. All kinds of efforts were made to save every single life,” Anurag Thakur said.

“Even during election campaigning, he used to seek information from the Uttarakhand chief minister twice a day. The workers have shown us what is team spirit and leadership abilities.”

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Australian envoy ‘delighted’ with successful Uttarkashi rescue operation

Australia’s High Commissioner to India Philip Green expressed relief and delight while talking to the media on the successful rescue operation which saw 41 trapped workers being evacuated from a collapsed Uttarkashi tunnel on Wednesday evening,

“The natural human reaction is to be relieved and delighted for these 41 workers and for all of their friends and other loved ones,” he said.

“We were all imagining how terrible it must have been in this appalling situation and their families wondering what their fates would be and how joyful we all feel and relieved that they are safe and sound & back in the arms of their loved ones.”

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PM Modi guided relief efforts: Union Minister

​Union Minister General (Retd) VK Singh said PM Narendra Modi guided the efforts to rescue the trapped workers from the Uttarkashi tunnel.

“It was a different operation in itself since workers were stuck so we had to rescue them. There were different options to reach there, some were used. The most important thing about this rescue was that PM Modi guided it entirely. It motivated the institutions, agencies and people working there and helped in coordination,” he told the media.

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

They don’t seem to be under any sort of mental stress, says Dr Narendra Kumar, Assistant Professor, Hospital Administration, AIIMS Rishikesh

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

41 rescued workers, onboard the IAF Chinook helicopter, on their way to Rishikesh 

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

‘This was a mission of entire India’, says NDMA member Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

‘Am senior, will be last’: Rescued tunnel worker Gabbar Singh’s brave words

The 41 labourers liberated from the collapsed Uttarakhand tunnel late Tuesday spent 17 days in an underground jail, a situation that was bound to test most people’s willpower and need a strong leader to keep the guys calm. Gabbar Singh Negi, who was born 260 kilometres distant in the Pauri Garhwal area and had the sad distinction of having been in three collapsed tunnels, was that figure.

Negi taught his colleagues yoga and meditation throughout the 400+ hours they were buried – about 200 feet in the earth – and ensured they were physically and psychologically engaged by assuring them he would be the last to be rescued.

“‘I am senior-most… I will be the last to come out…’, this is what he told me,” a smiling and visibly relieved Jaymal Singh Negi, his brother, told NDTV Wednesday morning, hours after all 41 men were extracted and given extensive medical check-ups to ensure they had suffered no injuries.

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Uttarakhand CM Dhami announces cash incentive for all personnel involved in Silkyara rescue operation

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has stated that all troops involved in the rescue effort within the Silkyara Tunnel would receive an incentive of Rs 50,000 apiece.

Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met with the rescued Silkyara tunnel workers at Chinyalisaur Hospital on Wednesday and stated that the men had been thoroughly evaluated and were well.

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PM watched live coverage of Uttarkashi workers being rescued, got emotional: Sources

When the Uttarkashi tunnel workers were evacuated late Tuesday night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was intently following the whole evacuation operation. The Prime Minister, according to insiders, was watching the entire procedure live on television.

The whole cabinet, including the Prime Minister, was present throughout the rescue effort. After the safe evacuation of the trapped workers, the Prime Minister became emotional.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur stated that a cabinet discussion was taking place on Tuesday about 8 p.m. during the workers’ evacuation, and that PM Modi was visibly moved as the workers emerged.

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‘Work of patience, grit and perseverance’: Indian cricket fraternity reacts to Silkyara tunnel rescue

The Indian cricket fraternity took to social media to celebrate the rescue of all 41 trapped workers from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand.

Indian spin legend Anil Kumble took to X (formerly Twitter) and called the rescue act a work of “patience, grit and perseverance.”

“A big shoutout to everyone involved in successfully and safely rescuing all the trapped workers in the Silkyara tunnel. Commendable work of patience, grit and perseverance. Happy for the families to be reunited with their loved ones. Wishing speedy recovery and rehabilitation of the rescued workers. #UttarakhandTunnelRescue,” tweeted Kumble.

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‘We fulfilled our commitment’ says specialist Rat Miner team as they celebrate successful rescue of 41 workers

When heavy gear failed to drill through the rubble that had buried 41 workers in the Silkyara tunnel, rescuers had to resort to rat-hole mining, a prohibited practise in the nation.

Rat hole mining is the excavation of very small tunnels into which expert personnel enter and retrieve coal or trash.

While recalling his recollections of the time when the miners’ team spotted the workers, Rat Mining Rescue Team Leader Vakeel Hasan said it was like handing water to a thirsty person.

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Filmmakers rush to register titles on Uttarakhand Tunnel Operation

On Tuesday evening, after 16 days of strenuous efforts by different authorities, all 41 workers trapped within the tunnel in Uttarkashi were successfully evacuated.

According to News18, numerous filmmakers and production companies are scrambling to get film titles based on India’s successful operation.

There have been several requests to register various film titles at the Mumbai offices of the Indian Motion Picture Producers Association (IMPPA), Producers Guild of India, and Indian Film and Television Producers Council (IFTPC).

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Uttarakhand tunnel survivors airlifted to AIIMS-Rishikesh for check-up

Workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel were airlifted to AIIMS-Rishikesh for a health check-up on Wednesday, officials said.

Forty-one workers were rescued from the collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi after a gruelling 17-day operation that culminated on Tuesday evening.

The workers were kept under medical observation at a hospital in Chinyalisaur after their evacuation.

An official at AIIMS-Rishikesh said the workers will first be taken to the trauma ward of the hospital from where they will be shifted to the disaster ward for a detailed examination of their health parameters.

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‘Like brothers’: Rescued Indian tunnel workers stayed hopeful through ordeal

The hope of being rescued soon kept many of the workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in India going through their experience, several of the men said on Wednesday, hours after they were freed after 17 days.

After spending the night at a makeshift medical facility in this small Himalayan hamlet, all 41 men, low-wage labourers from some of India’s poorest states, were rescued and were being transferred to a specialised hospital in Rishikesh city.

Doctors said they were all recovering well but will require long-term care, including post-traumatic stress disorder monitoring.

The men had lights in their confinement area and service pipes were used to push in oxygen, water, food, medicines and also to talk to them, and allow them to speak to their families.

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Lost all hope of surviving: J’khand worker rescued from tunnel

The 41 workers trapped in the collapsed Uttarakhand tunnel had lost all hopes of surviving said Anil Bediya, one of the rescued labourers, who he recalled survived the ordeal in the initial days by eating ‘muri’ (puffed rice) and licking water dripping from rocks.

The 22-year-old worker hailing from Jharkhand had a close brush with death after a portion of the Silkyara tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway in Uttarakhand collapsed early on November 12.

“Loud shrieks punctuated the air…We all thought we would be buried inside the tunnel and had lost all hope during the first couple of days,” said Bediya.

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Goldi Solar offers rooftop solar power installation to 41 workers rescued from Uttarakhand tunnel

Gujarat-based Goldi Solar on Wednesday said it will install rooftop solar power system at the houses of the 41 workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel collapse site in Uttarakhand.

On Tuesday evening, rescue team pulled out all the 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days.

“With the nation celebrating safe returns of our brave workers who were trapped in Uttarkashi, we will support the affected families and individuals. Goldi Solar will power the residence of all the 41 workers with rooftop solar installations,” the company said in a statement.

Goldi Solar Founder and MD Ishver Dholakiya said, this initiative is a step to empowering these families with access to sustainable energy and hope for a brighter future. Goldi Solar is committed to helping underprivileged communities and contributing to their well-being.

The company will bear the cost of the initiative, he said.

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Rescued workers enter IAF’s transport aircraft Chinook to be flown to AIIMS Rishikesh for further evaluation

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

CM Dhami meets workers rescued from tunnel at hospital, gives Rs 1 lakh cheque to each of them

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited with the workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel and being treated at a hospital in Chinyalisaur on Wednesday and handed them Rs 1 lakh to each of them.

He also chatted with their relatives who were waiting outside the hospital. They congratulated him for extracting the trapped workers safely after nearly 17 days.

Dhami walked from bed to bed at the hospital, speaking to and handing out checks to each of the rescued workers.

The chief minister also offered a Rs. 50,000 award for each rescue worker who entered the evacuation path and assisted the stranded personnel in exiting the tunnel.

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‘Rat miners’ to the rescue: How trapped India tunnel workers were saved

When heavy gear failed while attempting to break through the rubble that had trapped 41 miners in a tunnel in the Indian Himalayas, authorities called in a group of people whose occupation is practically prohibited in the nation – “rat-hole mining.”

While augur machines were able to horizontally bore through roughly three-quarters of the rubble, it was up to a half-dozen skilled at burrowing in tiny areas to reach the stranded men on Tuesday.

After a 17-day struggle, rescuers successfully extracted the men in wheeled stretchers through a huge pipe pushed through the wreckage.

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

It is really a good day, says Vijay Rai on the successful rescue of his family member from Silkyara tunnel

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

NDRF rescue team members recount experience leading to evacuation of 41 workers

Manmohan Singh Rawat, the leader of the team that went in to rescue workers in the Uttarkashi tunnel on Wednesday, stated that they maintained continual communication with people trapped inside during the operations.

He described his adventure and the successful rescue of 41 stranded workers within the Silkyara tunnel.

“When I entered the tunnel, I asked them, ‘Ap loog kaise hai? (How are you?)” I said to them, ‘Do not panic.’ They were very happy to see the NDRF team reaching out to them," Rawat told ANI on Wednesday.

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Licked water dripping from rocks, ate ‘muri’ to survive: J’khand worker rescued from tunnel

Anil Bediya, one of the 41 labourers who were rescued from a collapsed Uttarakhand tunnel after 17 days, survived the ordeal by eating ‘muri’ (puffed rice) and licking water dripping from rocks.

The 22-year-old worker hailing from Jharkhand had a close brush with death after a portion of the Silkyara tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway in Uttarakhand collapsed early on November 12.

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Trapped workers safe, focus now on what led to Uttarakhand tunnel collapse

Rescuers have rescued all 41 workers who had been stranded for 17 days inside a collapsed Uttarakhand tunnel when rat miners bore through the debris, sparking joy. The investigation will now focus on what caused the collapse and why the rescue took so long.

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‘18-24 hours passed in fear’: Rescued workers narrate 17-day ordeal

Workers who were freed from inside the Uttarkashi tunnel after 17 days are now looking forward to visiting their worried families.

Vishwajeet Kumar Verma, a Jharkhand-based worker who runs a compressor machine, said he was confident he would be rescued and reunited with his family.

“I am very happy and safe. All the other trapped labourers are also safe. Now, we are in the hospital. The debris had fallen at the beginning of the tunnel and I was on the other side. The road of about two and a half kilometers was empty. We used to roam around inside the tunnel to spend our time. There was a little fear in the beginning, but as we got food, water and talked to our families, our morale kept going higher and higher. We had full faith that very soon we would see the outside world,” Vishwajeet said.

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‘PM Modi didn’t miss single day’s update’ says Uttarakhand CM Dhami on Uttarkashi tunnel rescue

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, on Wednesday, expressed his happiness on the successful rescue of trapped 41 workers from the Uttarkashi tunnel and said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself was being constantly updated of the mission and did not miss the updates even a single day.

“The mission was very challenging and all the people working in it have contributed. I thank everyone, especially our Prime Minister. I never heard that even for a single day the Prime Minister missed any update on the rescue mission. He took cognizance of even the minutest details of the rescue operation and extended his advice on how we could proceed further,” said Dhami.

“He (PM Modi) explained everything about how to motivate the experts who were fully engaged and because of his constant guidance, we made this difficult campaign successful,” Dhami added.

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‘Celebrated only yesterday:’ A late Diwali for families of rescued workers from Uttarkashi tunnel

Family and friends of the 41 workers, who were safely pulled out from the debris of the collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi after 17 days are jubiliant and have been celebrating by bursting firecrackers.

For them it was a late Diwali, as the tunnel collapse happened on November 12, the day of the the festival.

The family of rescued workers Ram Milan, Santosh Kumar and Ram Sundar in Uttar Pradesh’s Shravasti rejoiced after their safe rescue.

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‘Combined sense of purpose to save 41 people outweighed all challenges’ says tunnelling expert Arnold Dix

After the successful evacuation of all 41 workers who were trapped inside Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel for 17 days, International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix, said on Wednesday that though there were multiple challenges in the rescue operation, the combined sense of purpose to save the 41 people weighed out all the challenges.

On being asked about the kinds of challenges faced during the rescue operation, Arnold Dix said, “I think it would be better to say, what kind of challenges didn’t we face? And what we didn’t face was a combined sense of purpose to save the 41 people. That’s the challenge we didn’t face. We don’t have that in many places. Everyone knew we were bringing those men home.”

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Uttarkashi Rescue Operation Health Nodal Officer says all 41 workers are healthy

After screening and a health checkup at Chiniyalisaur Community Health Centre, 41 workers who were successfully rescued from the Silkyara Tunnel are healthy, said Dr. Bimlesh Joshi, Nodal Officer Health of Rescue operation.

“All 41 workers are currently healthy; their health screening has been done twice after the rescue, first inside the tunnel last night and second this morning. A team of 18 doctors at the Community Health Centre of Chinyalisaur has been monitoring his health since last night, out of which 10 are GDMOs and the remaining 8 are specialists, which include all types of specialists. Apart from this, there is a paramedical staff. There is a total staff of around 50, he said that since last night, all 41 labourers have been given a balanced diet, which includes paneer, boiled egg, kheer, roti, vegetables and rice” Dr. Bimlesh Joshi said.

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‘Fed me almonds’: How trapped workers reacted when they first met rescue workers inside Uttarakhand tunnel

“I removed the last rock. I could see them. Then I went to the other side. I couldn’t. They hugged us, lifted us, and thanked us for taking them out,” these were the words of Munna Qureshi, the first rat miner who reached the site of the trapped area in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara Tunnel.

Recalling the moment, he told Hindustan Times, “We worked continuously in the last 24 hours. I can’t express my happiness. I have done it for my country. The respect they (trapped workers) have given us, I can’t forget in my whole life.”

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‘Practised yoga, took walks to keep spirits up’: Rescued workers interact with PM

A rescued worker informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the 41 workers who were rescued from Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue effort kept their spirits up by taking morning walks and performing yoga.

The workers praised Prime Minister Modi, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, and the rescue teams for their efforts, with one stating they had nothing to worry about since if the government could save Indians overseas, they could save Indians at home.

In his telephonic conversation with the rescued workers late Tuesday night, Modi told them, I congratulate you on coming out safely after being in danger for so many days. It is a matter of happiness for me and I cannot express it in words. If something bad had happened, can’t say how we would have taken that. It is God’s grace that all of you are safe.

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

‘Didn’t ask anything for me, I asked for 41 people out there’, says international tunnelling expert, Arnold Dix

Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue LIVE Updates

Uttarakhand tunnel rescue: From rathole miners to Gen VK Singh, heroes of the mission

After 17 days – 400 hours to be exact – 41 workers trapped inside the tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara saw the light as they were brought out in a rescue operation that is being dubbed as India’s biggest one to date.

As each worker was pulled out of the tunnel, cheer, jubilation broke out at the site while the nation also heaved a collective sigh of relief. Loud cheers and slogans could be heard outside the tunnel as people greeted the ambulances that took the workers to community health centres while locals distributed streets.

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‘We never lost hope’: Worker after being rescued from Silkyara tunnel

“We never lost hope,” Vishal, one of the workers rescued from the Silkyara tunnel, told PTI.

After a 17-day multi-agency operation led by the federal and state administrations, all 41 workers were rescued on Tuesday evening.

Vishal, a native of Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi, was rescued and greeted his family members outside the tunnel before being transferred to a hospital in an ambulance.

Ambulances waiting in line at the tunnel took the workers to a community health clinic with a dedicated 41-bed ward. Prior to this, the workers were given a cursory medical examination within the tunnel.