Update (1016 EST): All forty-one workers have been rescued.
All 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand since November 12, have been successfully rescued. pic.twitter.com/xQq2EfAPuq
— ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023
Update (1003 EST): Twenty workers have been rescued. Leaving twenty-one still in the tunnel.
Update (0945 EST): An additional five workers have been rescued, bringing the total to ten men rescued from the tunnel.
Update (0944 EST): The first images of the workers have been released, showing them in relatively good health.
Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue: CM Pushkar Singh Dhami meets the workers who have been rescued from inside the Silkyara tunnel pic.twitter.com/f4JsRKsqmJ
— ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023
Moments ago, local Indian media announced that the first five of forty-one workers have been pulled from the collapsed Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India.
#BigBreaking : Reports confirming that 5 trapped workers inside Silkiyara tunnel have been evacuated. #UttarkashiRescue
— Megha Prasad (@MeghaSPrasad) November 28, 2023
The tunnel collapsed and left a breathable pocket on November 12th. By November 15th, emergency crews under a whole of government approach were able to get air, water, and food to the trapped workers through a series of delivery pipes.
Over the last twenty four hours, crews have been doing a vertical drill operation to slowly insert a human-sized pipe that the miners could be pulled through. The first five have reportedly been able to use the pipe to escape.
Indian Army Retired General Ata Hasnain told press that it takes approximately 3-5 minutes to pull one man through the evacuation pipe and that it will take “all night” to get all forty-one men out of the pocket. The evacuation pipe is almost 60 meters in depth.
Evacuated workers will be transported to Chinyalisaur Community Health Center in nearby Uttarkashi.
This is developing.
