Rescue teams are nearing the end of their mission to rescue 41 workers stuck inside a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand. A rescue crew member named Girish Singh Rawat stated early on Thursday morning that the operation was nearly finished and that its results should be known in the coming hours.
"Rescue operation is almost in the last stage, I hope the result will come in 1-2 hours...pipeline is being inserted to take out the workers...the steel pieces that were stuck in the debris were cut and removed," Rawat said.
During the difficult process of inserting pipes by horizontal drilling, the operation encountered various challenges, one of which was the discovery of steel rods embedded in the debris inside the tunnel.
"We have found some steel rods in the debris. The machine couldn't cut those rods. Therefore, NDRF personnel will cut those rods following which we will use the machine again," explained Harpal Singh, the project head of Zoji-la tunnel, who is helping with the rescue operations in Silkyara.
Singh expected that the procedure would require one to one and a half hours. Furthermore, two six-meter pipes were to be inserted through horizontal drilling in order to aid in the workers' evacuation, he said speaking to reporters late on Wednesday night.
"I hope that they (trapped workers) will be rescued by 8 am tomorrow," Sing added.
According to PTI, a team from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had been seen entering the tunnel in the evening. In preparation for the evacuation, a group of fifteen physicians, including specialists in chest specialists, are stationed at the site. A fleet of forty ambulances is planned to be placed, with twelve already on standby at the scene.
It was also expected that a helicopter would be dedicated to the mission. The Chinyalisaur community health clinic prepared a separate ward to house all of the evacuated personnel. According to officials, AIIMS, Rishikesh and all of the district's hospitals are on alert.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, in a post on X, said, "Respected Prime Minister Narendra Modi called today and took information about the ongoing rescue operation of the workers trapped at Silkyara tunnel, Uttarkashi."
"On this occasion, the Prime Minister was informed about the progress being made in the relief and rescue operations being conducted on a war footing in coordination with the central agencies, international experts and the state administration," CM Dhami further added.
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