Silkyara tunnel rescue operation in 10 points: All labourers under observation, none critical

Finally, after 17 days, rescue teams achieved success in the Silkyara tunnel operation on Tuesday safely bringing out all the 41 trapped workers. Here is all you need to know about India's biggest and toughest rescue operation.

Uttarkashi:In a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair over 17 days, all 41 labourers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel were rescued at last on Tuesday evening.

Union Minister V K Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed the workers as National Disaster Response Force men brought them out through a steel chute that lined a 60-metre escape passage. An ambulance with the first of the 41 workers left the mouth of the tunnel around 8 pm, about an hour after a group of rat-hole mining experts dug through the last stretch of rubble.

Here are the 10 points in this big story:

1. None of the 41 labourers is critical, however, all of them will be kept under medical observation before being sent home, Uttarakhand CM Puskar Dhami said on Tuesday.
2. The initial health checkup of all the workers was conducted at the temporary medical camp set up inside the tunnel. Uttarakhand CM Dhami and Union Minister VK Singh were inside the tunnel as trapped workers were brought out one by one.
3. Around 8 pm, an ambulance with the first worker in the vehicle left the mouth of the tunnel and was headed to a community health centre which had already been prepped up to treat the rescued workers.
4. In a rescue operation that involved the latest engineering gig, manual rat-hole miners emerged as the heroes as they drilled with their hands to safely evacuate the trapped workers.
5. Rat-hole mining was started on Monday evening to rescue the trapped workers. Rat-hole mining involves digging narrow tunnels, usually 3-4 feet high, for workers to enter and extract coal. The horizontal tunnels are often termed "rat holes", as each just about fits one person.
6. Relief and happiness writ large on the faces of the family members of workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel after the news of their rescue reached their kin. Many of them had been waiting for days outside the tunnel, hoping to see their loved ones safe and sound.
7. A wave of happiness spread across the country as the labourers were evacuated with social media awash with messages of gratitude for those involved in the rescue operations.
8. Among those who congratulated the rescue teams were Presiden Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, among others. The Congress lauded the dedication, skill and perseverance of the rescue team that brought out all the 41 workers trapped in an under-construction road tunnel in Uttarakhand and demanded adequate compensation for them.
9. A portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12, the debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel, trapping 41 labourers inside the under-construction structure.
10. The 4.5 km Silkyara tunnel was being constructed as part of the Char Dham all-weather road project connecting four sites, and it was located on the Yamunotri end of National Highway 134. That National Highway is planned to connect Dharasu on the south end to Yamunotri on the north end. The tunnel will shorten the route by about 20 kilometres.