Rescuers in India commence the extraction of 41 men who were trapped inside a tunnel in the Himalayas

In SILKYARA, Indian rescuers successfully extracted the initial among 41 construction workers who were trapped inside a collapsed Himalayan tunnel for 17 days, following extensive efforts to drill through the debris of rock, concrete, and soil, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

The evacuation of these individuals began more than six hours after the breakthrough, marking the end of the ordeal that began on November 12 when the tunnel collapsed.

“A successful extraction of the first individual has been accomplished,” reported a rescue official to journalists outside the 4.5-kilometer (3-mile) tunnel situated in Uttarakhand, a northern state of India.

Ambulances, their lights flashing, assembled at the tunnel’s entrance to transport the workers to a hospital located about 30 kilometers away.

Throughout their ordeal, the trapped individuals received sustenance such as food, water, light, oxygen, and medication through a pipeline. However, attempts to dig a tunnel for their rescue using high-powered drilling machines encountered several obstacles.

The tunnel forms a part of the $1.5 billion Char Dham highway, a major project under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiative, intended to link four significant Hindu pilgrimage sites through an 890-kilometer road network.

While authorities have not disclosed the exact cause of the cave-in, the region is susceptible to natural disasters like landslides, earthquakes, and floods.