UTTARKASHI, India (AP) — Forty-one construction workers emerged late Tuesday dazed and smiling from a collapsed tunnel where they had been stranded for the past 17 days — a happy end to an ordeal that has gripped India and brought with it a massive rescue operation that she had overcome several setbacks.
Locals, relatives and government officials erupted in joy, setting off firecrackers and chanting “Bharat Mata ki Jai” – Hindi for “Long live Mother India” – as happy workers walked out of the building after a brief medical examination. Officers hung garlands around their necks as the crowd cheered.
Nitin Gadkari, the country’s road transport and highways minister, said in a video posted on the social media platform , were rescued from the northern state of Uttarakhand.
“This was a well-coordinated multi-agency effort that represented one of the most significant rescue operations in recent years,” Gadkari said.
No one was seriously injured or killed when a landslide collapsed a section of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel about 200 meters (220 yards) from the entrance early on the morning of Nov. 12. There were layers and lots of them were probably looking forward to celebrating Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, that day.
Rescuers work at the site of an under-construction road tunnel that collapsed in Silkyara in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Officials in India said Tuesday they were close to rescuing 41 construction workers trapped for more than two weeks in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the country’s north after rescuers drilled through rubble to get to them. (AP photo)
The workers had light in the collapsed tunnel and had been supplied with food, water and oxygen via pipes since their ordeal began. More than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, were also on site and monitoring her health.
Officials said all 41 workers survived the ordeal in good health. Before they appeared in front of the cameras and crowds and were taken away in ambulances, they were examined in a makeshift medical camp at the tunnel entrance.
The rescue was supposed to be straightforward and only last a few days, but a series of setbacks led to it being expanded and workers stranded for more than two weeks.
During the final stretch, about a dozen rescuers took turns digging through rocks and rubble with hand-held drills on Monday night, said Kirti Panwar, a state government spokesman.
An ambulance waits to transport workers from the site of a road tunnel under construction that collapsed in Silkyara in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Officials in India said on Tuesday they were close to rescuing 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the north of the country for more than two weeks after rescuers drilled through rubble to reach them. (AP photo)
After the machine they were using broke down on Friday, rescuers resorted to digging by hand. The machine had drilled about 47 meters (51 yards) of the approximately 57-60 meters (62-66 yards) needed to reach the workers.
The workers were taken out one by one on a wheeled stretcher that was pulled through a three-foot-wide tunnel of welded pipe that crews had pushed through the shelter.
Devender, a rescuer who gave only his first name, told New Delhi television: “The trapped workers were overjoyed when they discovered us in the tunnel. Some rushed towards me and hugged me.”
People watch rescue operations at the site of an under-construction road tunnel that collapsed in Silkyara in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Officials in India said Tuesday they were close to rescuing the 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the north of the country for more than two weeks after rescuers drilled through rubble to get to them. (AP photo)
Most of the workers were migrant workers from around the country, and many of their families traveled to the site and camped out for days hoping to see them rescued.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to some of the rescued workers on the phone and inquired about their welfare, the Press Trust of India news agency reported. He said their courage and patience were an inspiration to everyone and he wished them good health.
Ambulances wait to transport workers from the site of an under-construction road tunnel that collapsed in Silkyara in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. Officials in India said on Tuesday they were close to rescuing 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the north of the country for more than two weeks after rescuers drilled through rubble to get to them. (AP photo)
He also praised the many people who took part in the rescue.
“Everyone involved in the mission has created an amazing example of humanity and teamwork,” Modi said.
The tunnel that workers built was designed as part of the Chardham all-weather road that will connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites. Some experts say the project, a flagship federal government initiative, will worsen fragile conditions in the upper Himalayas, where several cities are being built on landslide rubble.
Ambulances carry workers rescued from the site of an under-construction road tunnel that collapsed in Silkyara in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. India’s transport minister says all 41 construction workers were trapped inside A collapsed mountain tunnel in the country’s north has been demolished. (AP photo)
This handout photo provided by the Uttarakhand State Department of Information and Public Relations shows Pushkar Singh Dhami (right), Chief Minister of Uttarakhand State, greeting a laborer who was rescued from the site of an under-construction road tunnel in Silkyara collapsed in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, Tuesday, November 28, 2023. Dhami said eight workers had been rescued so far on Tuesday. The workers are pulled out through a passage made of welded pipes that rescuers have previously pushed through earth and stones. (Uttarakhand State Department of Information and Public Relations via AP)
A large number of pilgrims and tourists visit the many Hindu temples in Uttarakhand, with the number increasing over the years due to the continuous construction of buildings and roads.
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