41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel rescued after 17 days

The happy ending of a race against time. On Tuesday, November 28, Indian rescue teams rescued the 41 workers trapped for 17 days in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel, where ambulances were leaving the entrance to the site. “I am totally relieved and happy that 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel collapse have been rescued,” Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said.

The minister praised the efforts “well coordinated” having allowed “one of the most important rescue operations in recent years”. The rescued men were draped in orange flower garlands in celebration as they were greeted by state officials, according to government photos.

A 57 meter steel pipe

A crowd applauded their exit from the tunnel while emergency vehicles, flashing lights on, prepared to leave the entrance to the site, where workers had been stuck since the collapse of part of the structure under construction in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, on November 12.

Family members of the workers who were waiting to finally see them confirmed that the exhausted men had been taken out of the tunnel, pulled through the 57 meters of a steel pipe on stretchers specially equipped with wheels. During the day, rescue teams managed to install the last section of the steel pipe to free these 41 workers.