New Delhi:
Their heads lined with laborious hats, faces glistening with hope, 41 staff trapped in an Uttarakhand tunnel had been seen this morning for the primary time in 10 days after a landslide shut their exit route. A digicam pushed by way of a six-inch pipe and walkie-talkies related them to the rating of rescuers working additional time to deliver them again.
Between the rescue groups and the trapped staff is particles about 40 metres thick. Drilling by way of this and bringing the employees dwelling has been a tall problem owing to a mix of things, together with the topography and the character of soil within the Himalayan area.
Round 3.45 am immediately, when the employees’ faces appeared on digicam, there have been some moments of pleasure among the many rescue groups. The temper quickly turned critical because the rescuers deliberate the following steps of their daunting job. They assured the employees that they may attain them quickly and shot off a number of directions.
“Are you alright? If all of you’re okay, please present your self earlier than the digicam. Please elevate your fingers and smile,” the employees had been advised over the walkie-talkie. They responded by lining up earlier than the digicam. Their faces confirmed a stubble that had grown over the previous week, their heads had been lined by laborious hats. They waved to the digicam, signalling that they’re doing effectively.
“We’ll attain you very quickly, please don’t worry. Please are available entrance of the digicam one after the other. We need to present your family members that you’re okay,” a rescuer stated.
The employees had been then requested to take the digicam from contained in the pipe and focus it on every of them. “We are able to see you very clearly,” a rescuer stated, asking if the employees had acquired the walkie-talkie they despatched by way of the pipe. When the employees confirmed that they had, the rescuers instructed them easy methods to function the walkie-talkie.
The digicam and walkie-talkie reference to the employees is a big growth within the long-drawn rescue operation. The six-inch pipe pushed by way of the rubble is a lifeline, by way of which the employees might be despatched meals and medicines. The visible and voice connection now will assist rescue groups inspire the employees and reassure them amid their harrowing wait to be dwelling.
Within the footage from this morning, one can even hear the rescue staff discussing a plan to ship meals to the trapped staff. Khichdi and Daliya are among the many gadgets being ready to be despatched by way of the six-inch pipe, based on a report by information company ANI.
On Monday, quickly after the pipe was in place, the employees had been despatched Khichdi. This was their first correct meal in 10 days.
The 41 staff have been caught since a landslide within the under-construction tunnel on November 12 blocked their exit. The tunnel, which is a part of the centre’s bold Char Dham tasks, is situated between Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarakhand. This tunnel is on the highway proposed to attach Uttarkashi and Yamunotri.