Uttarkashi/New Delhi: As the rescue operation to bring out 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel for the last 17 days finally fetched results on Tuesday, the National Disaster Management Authority said that an Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter has landed near the Silkyara tunnel and is on standby to airlift the workers post-rescue, if needed.
NDMA Member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain told reporters during a briefing in Delhi that a 30-bed facility is ready in the District Hospital and a 10-bed facility is also ready at the site. "Chinook can fly in the night but the weather is not favourable for it and there is no urgency as such. If there is urgency, workers can be brought to Rishikesh in 1 or 2 ambulances..." the NDMA member said.
Rescue operations, Hasnain said, were near a breakthrough as the pipe has to be pushed for another two metres to reach the 41 workers who have been trapped in the Silkyara tunnel for 17 days. The same was achieved a few hours later as teams of NDRF and SDRF were finally able to bring the first bunch of trapped labourers out.
As many as 12 rat-hole mining experts were called in to finish the last stretch of drilling by using hand-held tools in a confined space after the broken parts of the auger drilling machine were removed from the rubbles.
Earlier Hasnain said they were "near a breakthrough but not yet there", and added that trapped workers have heard the sounds of machines. "Once the breakthrough is achieved, it would take 3-4 hours to bring out all the trapped workers," he said, it would take about 3-5 minutes to pull out each worker on a wheeled stretcher through the pipe. He also said that rat miners did a phenomenal job by digging 10 metres in less than 24 hours. Hasnain said all security and safety precautions are being taken for workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel and for those engaged in rescue operations.
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