Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: Rescuers just 18 metres away from trapped labourers

Lucknow: With barely 18 metres of drilling left, the rescuers hope to reach the 41 labourers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, a portion which had collapsed on November 12, and bring them out.

The officials, engaged in the rescue work, said on Wednesday that the labourers were at a distance of 57 metres and so far drilling has been completed for 39 metres. ''The next few hours are crucial....if everything goes according to the plan, then we may get some good news either late in the night or tomorrow morning,'' said an official.

Sources said that the drilling work had to be halted for some time owing to the falling debris following continuous drilling by the Auger machine since Tuesday night.

They said that a goods train carrying two more drilling machines from Gujarat had arrived at Rishikesh and was being transported to Silkyara by truck.

The officials said that preparations were being made to provide medical facilities to the trapped labourers once they came out of the tunnel and a temporary 8-bedded hospital had been established.

Beds had been reserved at the Uttarkashi district hospital also. The labourers would be airlifted by chopper to AIIMS at Rishikesh if required, they added. A senior official said that some medicines were sent to the trapped labourers after some of them complained of stomach pain.

On Tuesday the first video footage of the trapped labourers surfaced showing them donning white and yellow helmets standing together and talking to the rescuers and their family members through the mic.

As many as 41 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 kilometres 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.