Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: Sufficient Water, Oxygen, Light Inside Tunnel, Says Official

In a major breakthrough in the ongoing Silkyara tunnel collapse, rescue team officials successfully developed communication with the trapped workers through the 6-inch pipeline on Tuesday morning.

ANI

What happened?

The rescue team was seen clearly talking to the workers trapped in the tunnel through the pipeline. The rescue team requested the workers to come in front of the endoscopic flexi camera inserted through the pipeline. A worker removed the camera from the pipeline and held it inside the confined space so everyone could be identified.

"There are lights and an electricity supply inside. There is a place up to 2km inside as the tunnel was already built. From the 4-inch pipeline, we were sending dry fruits and other eatables. Through the 6-inch pipeline, we sent a walkie-talkie inside and established communication... We also got a video showing that all of them are in good mental and physical health," Additional Secretary Technical, Road and Transport Mahmood Ahmed said.

"There is sufficient water, oxygen power and light inside the tunnel. A few families of the trapped workers have been transported there. Contact with the state administrations from where the workers belong has been going on. Some of the families of workers have been able to talk to the trapped workers through the 4-inch pipe that has been installed...Our focused effort is on horizontal drilling through the auger machine which has been brought from outside," said Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain, Member of the National Disaster Management Authority.

Earlier, family members of workers stuck inside the Silkyara tunnel interacted with them via a pipe inserted through the rubble.

Where and when?

The tragedy happened at a tunnel under construction, extending from Silkyara to Barkot in Uttarkashi, on November 12.

BCCL

How did they get entrapped?

On November 12, it was disclosed that a tunnel under construction, extending from Silkyara to Barkot, experienced a collapse. The incident resulted from a muck falling in a 60-meter stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel, leading to the entrapment of 41 labourers.

Who is held responsible?

"Action will definitely be taken against all suspicions but right now the priority is for all workers to come out safely," Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said.