Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: PM Modi calls up rescued workers, asks about well-being

After a protracted 17-day rescue mission, workers in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel were extracted, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with them late on Tuesday.

Officials told India Today that the Prime Minister called the rescued construction workers to check on their well-being.

After a day-long rat-mining operation, which was started because large and sophisticated drilling machines were unable to remove the debris from the Silkyara tunnel that was still under construction, all 41 workers were successfully evacuated by rescue crews.

The Prime Minister praised the weeks-long efforts of the rescue forces to successfully and safely extract the workers on X (previously known as Twitter) shortly after they were removed.

He claimed that all of the mission’s participants had produced a wonderful illustration of humanity and cooperation.

“The success of the rescue operation of our brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to the friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience are inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health,” the Prime Minister tweeted.

“It is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait, these friends of ours will now meet their loved ones. The patience and courage that all these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough,” he added.

On November 12, a landslip caused a section of the Silkyara tunnel, which is a component of the Center’s massive Char Dham project, to collapse, trapping 41 construction workers.