All 40 trapped workers will be rescued soon, Uttarakhand CM Dhami assures families

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday assured the family members of the 40 workers, who were trapped after an under-construction tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi, that they will be rescued soon from the tunnel.

#WATCH | Uttarkashi Tunnel accident: Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami holds a press conference at the State Disaster Operation Center, says, “40 people are trapped inside the Silkyara Tunnel located on the Uttarkashi-Yamnotri road. Food and water along with oxygen are… pic.twitter.com/Wyw3n8Z0Ie

— ANI (@ANI) November 13, 2023

Addressing a a press conference at the State Disaster Operation Center on Monday, Dhami said, “40 people are trapped inside the Silkyara Tunnel located on the Uttarkashi-Yamnotri road. Food and water along with oxygen are continuously being provided to all the people inside… Communication has been established with them. All of them are safe and I assure all the family members of the trapped people that they will be soon rescued from the tunnel…Teams are present on the spot and rescue work is underway…”

Earlier in the day, Dhami reached the site to oversee rescue operations.

The workers have been trapped for nearly 30 hours now.

A portion of the tunnel being built between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway caved in on Sunday morning.

According to a list of the trapped workers issued by the District Emergency Operation Centre, 15 are from Jharkhand, eight from Uttar Pradesh, five from Orissa, four from Bihar, three from West Bengal, two each from Uttarakhand and Assam and one from Himachal Pradesh.

The chief minister said the Centre and his government were working together to rescue the trapped labourers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav have taken a detailed update on the rescue operations and assured of all possible help, he added.

The officials, meanwhile, said attempts were also being made to stabilise the constantly falling loose debris inside the tunnel.

A nearly 30-metre stretch of the tunnel, being built by the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), has been affected by the cave-in.
NHIDCL Director Anshu Manish Khalko said loose debris hampering the rescue efforts was being stabilised using shotcrete a process involving spraying concrete.

Rescue efforts by personnel from multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), have been going on since Sunday morning.

With inputs from agencies