All 41 Workers Rescued From Uttarakhand Tunnel After 17 Days

In a relieving update, all 41 men trapped underground in a tunnel in Uttarakhan’s Silkyara were rescued on Tuesday. They were trapped under the tunnel for 17 days.

All the workers were brought out on special stretchers that were sent down through a two-meter-wide pipe inserted into the holes drilled into the hillside. Each worker was strapped to it and was manually pulled up through 60 meters of rock.

After the successful rescue operation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted about it on X.

“The success of the rescue operation of our labourer brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to those trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience are inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health. It is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait, our friends will now meet their loved ones. The patience and courage these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough,” the PM wrote on X.

The 41 workers were trapped 17 days ago when they were in it for a 4.5 km tunnel construction as a part of the Center’s Char Dham project. The project is aimed at providing all-weather connectivity between four prominent Hindu shrines in Uttarakhand – Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunitri.

On November 12, a section of tunnel between 205 and 260 meters from the Silkyara side collapsed and the workers who were beyond the 260 meter mark were trapped. The part where they were stuck had power and water supply.