Tunnel colloapse: Workers may be rescued in few hours or by tomorrow, says NDMA

New Delhi, Nov 23: Workers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel for the last 11 days are likely to be rescued in the next few hours or by tomorrow, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said on Thursday evening.
The drilling work to pull out 41 trapped workers encountered obstacles, which resulted in a temporary stoppage of rescue efforts.
“I expect that in the next few hours or by tomorrow, we will be successful in this operation,” Hasnain said in a media briefing.
The NDMA member also said that the horizontal drilling to rescue workers may face 3-4 more hurdles.
He also noted that it would not be fair to speculate on the timeline for rescue operations as it is just like fighting a war.
Hasnain further said that 41 ambulances, one each for trapped workers, are in place at the tunnel site, and facilities are in place to airlift workers in serious condition.
The men have been trapped for the past 11 days after a portion of the under-construction tunnel on the Uttarakhand Char Dham route collapsed, cutting off its exit.
Rescue operations to evacuate the workers resumed on Thursday morning after an overnight hurdle delayed the drilling by several hours.
Hasnain further said the workers trapped inside are safe, and there is no shortage of light or oxygen. Food, water, clothes and medicines are being supplied to them.
According to him, a better communication channel with the workers has now been established, due to which the authorities, including psychosocial workers, are able to directly talk with the trapped men.
Hasnain said National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams are at the site, conducting rehearsal and practice for the recovery of the trapped men.
“When the rescue is done, a medical checkup of workers will be done; anyone with a serious medical condition will be airlifted and flown to AIIMS, Rishikesh,” he added.
The NDMA member also said that equipment and resources that were being supplied from different places are continued.
“As soon as the machines arrive, efforts through other means will also start, in the interest of having redundant options available, in case the primary approach through horizontal drilling does not meet with success,” he said.
Asked whether the rescue agencies are facing any weather-related problems, the NDMA member said, “There was a report of a possible earthquake which had happened, very low-intensity, very low on Richter scale. It was missed by everyone at that particular time. But that is not part of climate or weather pattern.” According to the government’s latest media bulletin, NHIDCL has resumed horizontal boring from the Silkyara end to rescue workers using an Auger boring machine. (PTI)