Uttarakhand tunnel rescue: Ops over, what next and what about other tunnels in state?

Draped in orange marigold flower garlands and adorned with wide smiles, all 41 trapped workers emerged out safe and healthy from India’s collapsed tunnel in the Himalayas on Tuesday (Nov 28). 

Rescuers were able to reach the workers after employing the rat-hole mining technique, thus ending their 17-day long wait, who had been stuck in the darkness since Nov 12.

Munna Qureshi, a rat miner from Delhi, was the first one to reach the other side.

“I removed the last rock. I could see them. Then i went to the other side. They (trapped workers) hugged us, lifted us. And thanked us for taking us out. We worked continuously in the last 24 hours. I can’t express my happiness. I have done it for my country,” he was quoted as saying by local media.

“The respect they (trapped workers) have given us, I can’t forget my whole life,” he added.

The courage and perseverance of the trapped workers were lauded by senior-most leaders of the country, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying their “courage and patience is inspiring everyone.”

“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,” the prime minister said.

All workers will be flown to AIIMS, Rishikesh on Wednesday (Nov 29) where doctors will carry out thorough check-ups and look out for signs of emaciation and dehydration.

Watch: Uttarakhand tunnel rescue: All 41 trapped workers successfully rescued, taken for health check-u

According to experts, there is a risk of infections getting spread as the workers were trapped in unhygienic conditions for over two weeks. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is another major risk, requiring careful monitoring in the days after. 

“We do not know when they will reach here, most likely not at night. The immediate care they need will be provided at the temporary facility set up at the tunnel. However, they will be brought here for further treatment,” said Dr Meenu Singh, Director, AIIMS-Rishikesh. 

Earlier, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand state, Pushkar Singh Dhami, said all of the workers were healthy and no one was in critical condition.

“All of them were healthy. They crawled out of the passage rather than being carried on stretchers,” Dhami told reporters.

The Uttarakhand tunnel incident has again raised concerns about mining safety standards in India, with the government focusing on rapid infrastructure projects through young mountains but failing to implement adequate guidelines and procedures to avoid any untoward incident.

After the successful rescue operation, CM Dhami informed the media that the state will review all the tunnels across Uttarakhand for safety standards. He informed that the Government of India has also carried out “a safety audit so that we do not have to face such situations in future.” 

(With inputs from agencies)