The Rescuer team delivered the first video footage of the workers on Tuesday, who have been stuck inside Uttarkashi’s Silk Yara tunnel for around 10 days. In these hours, drilling is anticipated to start from the Silkyara side by the rescue team to bring back the trapped workers. Utilizing an endoscopic camera deployed through an alternative 6-inch food pipeline, the visuals were captured. In the video footage, workers adorned in yellow and white helmets are observed receiving food items delivered via the pipeline and interacting with the rescue teams. This development brought a palpable sense of relief to the families of the workers.

The rescue team pushed through a six-inch-wide pipeline through the remains of the collapsed Silkyara-Barkot tunnel to transfer larger quantities of food and oxygen for 41 workers. NHIDCL Director Anshu Khalko said,” We have entered the pipe 53 meters inside the tunnel so the trapped workers can hear and experience us 4-inch tube was used to transfer food, medicine, and oxygen, the new pipeline will permit food items like roti Sabji sent to the workers.”

Dr Abhishek Sharma, a Government-appointed psychiatrist said to a reporter about the mental health of the trapped workers. They said that” we continue to communicate with them, suggesting to do some activities like yoga, and walking, and encourage each other to maintain high morale. A trapped person of them, Gabbar Singh Neggi, who has been the oldest among them, he is encouraging everyone’s confidence to remain high.”

The construction workers trapped inside the tunnel since last Sunday when an area of the under-construction 4.5 kilometers tunnel on the National Highway between Silkyara and Barkot collapsed. This tunnel is a prime part of the bust Char Dham Yatra road, this flagship project connects several pilgrimage sites.

Bhupendra Singh, the RVNL official, who was also involved in the rescue operation, said, “ The SJVNL will continue to drill 1.2 meters to the depth of 85-90 meters to rescue trapped men at 320 meters of the tunnel. An access road for this has been made. Work starts on this tomorrow. RVNl horizontally drills 1.2 meters to a depth of 168-170 from the side using a micro tunneling procedure. It will perform as live saving tunnel and emergency escape in the future.”

He also said that “The Tehri Hydroelectric Development Corporation (THDC) is set to build a rescue tunnel with a diameter of 480 meters from the Barkot end using the conventional drill and blast method. Simultaneously, ONGC will create a vertical hole at the terminal section of the 2-kilometer stretch where the workers are currently trapped. NHIDCL will attempt to drill through the debris from the Silkyara side using an auger machine, and noteworthy progress has already been made in penetrating through.”

On Monday, the camera was pushed through a sic-inch pipe which can used to send food and walkie-talkies to the trapped workers in the tunnel. Rescue officials communicated with trapped workers through cameras and walkie-talkies.

The new pipe is wider than others so rescue officials easily send more oxygen, food, and other important things like medicine, mobile phones, and charges with this new pipe. On Monday, rescue officials said that they were trying to dig two more sites and also said the rescue operation should on for two or three days.

Also Read: Rescue Operation: High-Capacity Machine Boosts Rescue Mission for 40 Trapped Workers