Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Rescue efforts continue on sixth day, foreign experts consulted

Lucknow: Attempts to rescue 40 labourers who were trapped after the collapse of a portion of an under construction tunnel on the Yamunotri (origin of river Yamuna) National Highway in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district continued for the sixth day on Friday. The officials monitoring the rescue work said that it it could take two-three days more to bring the trapped labourers out of the tunnel.

According to the district officials in Uttarkashi, foreign experts, including a Thailand -based firm, which had rescued some children who were trapped in a cave in Northern Thailand in 2018 have been consulted.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Friday that attempts to safely bring out the trapped labourers are under way. ''So far pipes have been inserted into the tunnel to 25 metres.....the experts are monitoring the rescue efforts....the prime minister is also keeping an eye on the rescue operation,'' Dhami told reporters.

He said that the rescue efforts were hampered by the landslides resulting in falling of more rubble.

Sources said that the trapped labourers had been communicating with their family members and senior officials and that all of them were safe.

The officials said that one more heavy machine has been brought from Indore as a back up. Earlier two heavy machines had been brought from Delhi to speed up the removal of the debris and insert pipes inside collapsed parts of the tunnel.

A senior district official told DH over phone that the experts were in consultation with foreign experts on the rescue operation. ''Everything is being done to rescue the labourers,'' he added.

As many as 40 labourers from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Assam were trapped after a portion of the tunnel which caved in on Sunday. The spot was 200 metres away from the entry of the tunnel toward Silkyara.

The tunnel, which was 4.5 kilometre long was being constructed from Silkyara to Dandalgaon on the Yamunotri National Highway under the Char Dham Road project. The tunnel would reduce the distance from Uttarkashi to Yamunotri by around 26 kilometres.