First visuals of workers trapped at Silkyara tunnel emerge, workers healthy, communicate with rescue teams

Silkyara tunnel collapse in Uttarkashi, an endoscopy camera successfully transmitted the first visuals of the trapped workers. Communicating with the rescue team, these visuals showed the workers confirming their well-being, providing a glimmer of hope amid the ongoing rescue operation.

The rescue team has initiated the installation of a pipeline inside the Silkyara Tunnel, establishing communication with individual workers to ascertain their health status.

Another significant development unfolded as rescuers reached the tunnel using a vertical drilling machine from the hill above.

With 41 laborers still trapped inside, the arrival of this drilling machine marked a crucial advancement in the rescue mission, requiring a painstaking 13-hour effort involving three vehicles to transport the machine parts, as recounted by Harbanz, the driver who facilitated this transport.

This recent progress builds on the previous day's success when a six-inch-wide pipeline was maneuvered through the debris, serving as an alternate means to provide essentials to the stranded workers. For the first time post-incident, hot Khichdi was sent through this pipeline, offering sustenance to those trapped within the 2-km segment of the tunnel.

Colonel Deepak Patil, overseeing the rescue operation, outlined the primary challenge of evacuating the trapped men through a 900 mm pipe.

However, immediate provisions of food, mobiles, chargers, and medical supplies through the existing lifeline became a priority.

Addressing the nutritional aspect, Colonel Patil mentioned a list prepared in collaboration with medical professionals to cater to the workers' dietary needs. «We are utilizing bottles with wide mouths to send bananas, apples, Khichdi, and