New Delhi: Rescuers from multiple agencies continued to make frantic efforts Monday to pull out dozens of workers trapped inside an Uttarkashi tunnel that has partially collapsed.
As many as 40 men were working in the under-construction tunnel — between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway — when the passageway leading to the entrance gave way between 6 and 7 am Sunday.
The workers were trapped behind a pile of rubble, but authorities have managed to establish contact. An oxygen pipe has been inserted into the collapsed part of the tunnel, so that they have no problems breathing, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police (SP) Arpan Yaduvanshi said. Water and food are also being supplied through the debris.
About 160 rescuers from the national and state disaster response forces were trying to reach the workers by excavating the debris from the dark tunnel, videos and photographs of the operation showed.
The workers have removed about 20 metres of the debris, and there was another 40 metres to go, Uttarkashi Circle Officer Anuj Kumar has said, expecting the debris to be cleared up in another day or so.
The tunnel is a part of the Centre’s ambitious Himalayan Char Dham road project, which aims to strengthen connectivity in Uttarakhand and provide better access to important pilgrimage spots. The highway infrastructure is expected to be around 825 kilometres long.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inspected the site Monday morning, having previously urged rescuers to expedite the operation. He said the work was progressing with much speed and that the trapped men had been fed.
“The men are fine. We are collaborating with experts on the rescue. The prime minister, the home minister and the railway minister are in touch. We briefed the prime minister in detail. We assure the men’s families that they will be brought out soon,” Dhami told reporters.
The chief minister also said an investigation into the debacle was ongoing but the priority now was to rescue the workers.
#WATCH | On the Uttarkashi Tunnel accident, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami says, "…The rescue operation and removal of debris are going on speedily… Food material has been sent inside… We are talking with experts… An investigation is going on… Our priority is that… pic.twitter.com/8PD4kY339p
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 13, 2023
Also read: Under-construction tunnel collapses in Uttarakhand, at least 36 workers feared trapped