<p>Uttarkashi: Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days.</p><p>Union minister V K Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed the workers as National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) men brought them out through a steel chute that lined a 60-metre passage.</p><p>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.</p>.<p>There was hugging and cheers as the ordeal ended. Outside the tunnel some people chanted “Har Har Mahadev” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”</p><p>Ambulances which had lined up at the tunnel ferried the workers to a community health centre where a special 41-bed ward had been set up.</p><p>Before this, the workers were given a quick medical checkup as they emerged out of the steel pipe.</p><p>CM Dhami said no worker was in a critical situation. But the labourers will be kept under medical observation for some time before being sent home, he said.</p><p>He said the youngest of the worker was rescued first.</p><p>A portion of the tunnel on the Char Dham route collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit of the workers who were inside.</p><p>Food, medicines and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the rubble of the collapsed portion.</p><p>Relief was felt far and wide.</p>.Rat-hole miners' talent, experience come in handy in rescue of trapped workers at Silkyara.<p>Over the phone, Jharkhand’s Sunil, who was camping in Silkyara, spoke to <em>PTI</em> on the rescue of his brother Anil.</p><p>"Finally, God heard us. My brother could be rescued. I am with him in an ambulance on the way to hospital," he said in a choked voice.</p><p>As the rescue appeared imminent earlier in the day, families stationed in Silkyara were allowed inside the tunnel with their belongings – so that they could travel with their loved ones to the medical centre.</p><p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the relief workers. “Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork," he posted on X.</p><p>"It is a matter of great satisfaction that these friends of ours will meet their dear ones after a long wait," he added.</p><p>Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he saluted the grit of the trapped workers for facing such a challenging situation for so long.</p><p>The final challenge in the rescue operation was tackled by a group of men versed in the technique of rat-hole mining, which typically involves extracting small amounts of coal by going down narrow burrows.</p><p>They were called in to carry out manual drilling after a huge American-made auger boring machine got stuck in the horizontal passage that had been dug up to about 47 meters.</p>
<p>Uttarkashi: Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for almost 17 days.</p><p>Union minister V K Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed the workers as National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) men brought them out through a steel chute that lined a 60-metre passage.</p><p>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.</p>.<p>There was hugging and cheers as the ordeal ended. Outside the tunnel some people chanted “Har Har Mahadev” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”</p><p>Ambulances which had lined up at the tunnel ferried the workers to a community health centre where a special 41-bed ward had been set up.</p><p>Before this, the workers were given a quick medical checkup as they emerged out of the steel pipe.</p><p>CM Dhami said no worker was in a critical situation. But the labourers will be kept under medical observation for some time before being sent home, he said.</p><p>He said the youngest of the worker was rescued first.</p><p>A portion of the tunnel on the Char Dham route collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit of the workers who were inside.</p><p>Food, medicines and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the rubble of the collapsed portion.</p><p>Relief was felt far and wide.</p>.Rat-hole miners' talent, experience come in handy in rescue of trapped workers at Silkyara.<p>Over the phone, Jharkhand’s Sunil, who was camping in Silkyara, spoke to <em>PTI</em> on the rescue of his brother Anil.</p><p>"Finally, God heard us. My brother could be rescued. I am with him in an ambulance on the way to hospital," he said in a choked voice.</p><p>As the rescue appeared imminent earlier in the day, families stationed in Silkyara were allowed inside the tunnel with their belongings – so that they could travel with their loved ones to the medical centre.</p><p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the relief workers. “Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork," he posted on X.</p><p>"It is a matter of great satisfaction that these friends of ours will meet their dear ones after a long wait," he added.</p><p>Union Home Minister Amit Shah said he saluted the grit of the trapped workers for facing such a challenging situation for so long.</p><p>The final challenge in the rescue operation was tackled by a group of men versed in the technique of rat-hole mining, which typically involves extracting small amounts of coal by going down narrow burrows.</p><p>They were called in to carry out manual drilling after a huge American-made auger boring machine got stuck in the horizontal passage that had been dug up to about 47 meters.</p>