Silkyara tunnel's rescued workers narrate their despair, hope, relief

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Silkyara tunnel, were waiting for the arrival of their colleagues to replace them for the day shift.

But before the shift change could happen, a few of them suddenly heard a cracking sound inside the tunnel. A part of the tunnel had collapsed. Since they were about 2 km away from the collapsed part, they could not exactly understand the whole situation immediately.

«My colleague Manik Talukdar informed me about the collapse of a part of the under-construction tunnel.

I just rushed to that side using a vehicle which was inside the tunnel with us. After realizing the enormity of the problem, the first thing I did was to start the water pump. It was meant to give a signal to the employees, outside the tunnel, about the safety and status of our colleagues,» Sabba Ahemad, the foreman and leader of the group of 41 labourers, told ET on phone from Chinyalisaur.

Soon after, a system was put in place to supply food items like 'Chana', 'Mudhi', cashews and raisins to the trapped workers.

Oxygen was also supplied through a pipe. Water was already available in the collapsed tunnel and the area of about 2 km was enough for their movement.

So, Ahemed took it upon himself to keep his colleagues motivated, besides mentally preparing them to face the new challenge. He repeatedly asked them to stay together.

But it was not easy for all.

Sonu Shah, a native of Bihar's Bhojpur district and one of the trapped workers, felt fearful for his life after assessing the length of the collapsed part of the tunnel. «First 12 hours were difficult for us. I was losing my courage.

I assessed the length of the collapsed part of the tunnel. Inside the tunnel, there are several points indicating distance. So, I calculated that the length of the