The Air Force has stationed a Chinook helicopter – a twin-rotor heavy-lift chopper – at the airstrip in Uttarakhand’s Chinyalisaur, where an emergency medical centre has been set up to treat the 41 workers trapped underground in the Silkyara tunnel. Rescue teams are now just two metres, or 6.5 feet, from breaking into the collapsed cavern which has been the labourers’ prison for 17 days now.

The chopper can be used in case any of the rescued workers need urgent medical aid; they can be airlifted either from the tunnel site to the Chinyalisaur hospital (a distance of 30 km) or flown to the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh (a distance of around 160 km).

However, the IAF helicopter is understood to be a back-up option.

#WATCH | Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: Chinook helicopter present at Chinyalisaur airstrip to airlift the workers after their rescue from Silkyara tunnel. pic.twitter.com/ZRFgM6VvDp

— ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023

Forty-one ambulances are on standby at the site of the tunnel collapse – one for each worker – to bring them to the Chinyalisaur hospital by road; local police will organise a ‘green corridor’ to ensure each ambulance reaches the hospital as quickly as possible. A makeshift medical centre has also been set up – at the mouth of the collapsed tunnel – to provide first aid and emergency care.

READ | Uttarakhand Tunnel Rescue Anytime, Hospital, Chopper On Standby: 10 Facts

The helicopter, though, will not be flown today. Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd.), a member of the National Disaster Management Authority, said “we will not fly it during the night”.

“Chinook helicopter is at Chinyalisaur airstrip… (but) the last time to fly the Chinook is 4.30 pm. We will not fly at night. Since there is a delay (in the rescue process), the workers will be brought the next morning,” he said, “… if it is an urgent situation, at night one or two ambulances can be sent.”

#WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Lieutenant General (Retd.) Syed Ata Hasnain, Member, NDMA, says “Chinook helicopter is present at Chinyalisaur airstrip…The last time to fly the Chinook helicopter is 4:30 pm. We will not fly it during the night. Since there is… pic.twitter.com/x6sYTXls7S

— ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023

The NDMA member stressed that adequate medical arrangements had been made at Chinyalisaur.

“A 30-bed facility is ready at the district hospital and a 10-bed facility is ready nearby. The Chinook can fly at night but the weather is not favourable… and there is no urgency as such,” he explained.

As of Tuesday evening, less than seven feet, or two metres, separate the 41 trapped men and freedom.

Rescue teams are clearing the final few metres of debris – thanks to the banned manual “rat-hole”-mining technique pressed into service last night after high-tech machines, or augers, failed to drill 60 metres – and lay two-feet wide pipes to create an escape route.

READ | How Rat-Hole Mining, Outlawed, Saved 41 Trapped In Uttarkashi Tunnel

“We are near a breakthrough… but not yet there. Manual work has carried on the entire night and we have reached 58 metres (thanks to) our ‘rat miners’ and Army engineers. The trapped workers inside have said they can hear noises of work being done…” Lt General Hasnain explained.

READ | 2-Metre Digging Still Left Before 41 Trapped Workers Can Be Pulled Out

Officials told NDTV National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and emergency medical personnel with stretchers have taken over the rescue op, and have begun to work their way into the collapsed cavern.

The rescue plan hinges on a single NDRF personnel crawling down a two-metre-wide pipe to assess the condition of the trapped men and begin the process of bringing them out.

The workers will be brought out one-by-one on a specially-modified stretcher that will be pushed down the pipe and pulled up manually. A temp medical centre has been set up where each man will be examined and given first aid, if needed, before they are prepped for transport in the ambulances.

Located 30 km from Uttarkashi and 139 km drive from state capital Dehradun, the Silkyara tunnel is an integral part of the centre’s ambitious (and controversial) Char Dham all-weather road project.

With input from agencies

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Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is one of the most anticipated upcoming films by the makers of Dil Chahta Hai and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. The drama features Ananya Panday, Siddhant Chaturvedi and Adarsh Gourav in lead roles. Now, the film’s release date is out along with a new poster.

Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is set to release on OTT on December 26, 2023. The poster sees Ananya, Siddhant and Adarsh’s characters posing for a fun selfie. Check it out here:

The plot of Kho Gaye Hum Kahan is described as a “coming-of-digital-age story about three friends in their mid-20s navigating life in the world of social media.” The film is directed by debutant Arjun Varain Singh. 

Opening up about the film producers Zoya Akhtar and Reem Kagti shared, “Kho Gaye Hum Kahan holds a special place in our hearts. The process of writing and collaborating on this story with Arjun was exciting. It’s a coming-of-digital-age film that will hopefully resonate with the younger generations. We are committed to providing younger voices a platform to share original and fresh stories with audiences both locally and globally. ”

Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar also serve as producers for the film that will go straight to streaming.

All 41 men trapped underground in a tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara were rescued late Tuesday, beginning the home stretch of a frantic 17-day multi-agency op that relied, in the final stretch, on the banned manual “rat-hole”-mining technique employed after high-tech machines, or augers, failed to drill through the nearly 60 metres of rock that has threatened to bury the workers.

The extraction process took some time to allow each worker to re-acclimatise to surface conditions, where the temperature is around 14 degrees Celsius at this time.

The workers were brought out on specially modified stretchers; these were lowered manually down a two-metre-wide pipe inserted into holes drilled into the hillside. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was at the spot, hugging the workers as they came out.

Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, or NDRF, had gone down the pipe first to assess the condition of the trapped men and guide them through rescue protocols. Each worker was strapped to the stretcher that was then manually pulled up through 60 metres of rock and debris.

The ambulances – 41 of them, one for each worker – moved out in batches from the tunnel site with the rescued workers for the emergency medical facilities set up in Chinyalisaur, around 30 km away.

As soon as the first workers came out of the tunnel, the rescue personnel and those at the site welcomed them with garlands, sweets, and cheers. Families of the trapped workers rejoiced after meeting their loved ones for the first time in 17 days. The rescued workers then spoke to their families back home.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in praising the courage and patience of the trapped workers and their families and the bravery and determination of the rescue personnel. 

“The success of the rescue operation of our labourer brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional. I want to say to those trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience are inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health. It is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait, our friends will now meet their loved ones. The patience and courage these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough,” the PM wrote on X.

उत्तरकाशी में हमारे श्रमिक भाइयों के रेस्क्यू ऑपरेशन की सफलता हर किसी को भावुक कर देने वाली है।

टनल में जो साथी फंसे हुए थे, उनसे मैं कहना चाहता हूं कि आपका साहस और धैर्य हर किसी को प्रेरित कर रहा है। मैं आप सभी की कुशलता और उत्तम स्वास्थ्य की कामना करता हूं।

यह अत्यंत…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 28, 2023

“I also salute the spirit of all the people associated with this rescue operation. Their bravery and determination gave new life to our labourer brothers. Everyone involved in this mission has set an amazing example of humanity and teamwork,” he said.

Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, posted a video message on X. “Thanks to everyone involved in the Silkyara Tunnel rescue operation,” he wrote.

Elaborate preparations were made for the rescue. An Air Force Chinook chopper was standing by for emergencies and a green corridor was created to transfer the workers to the hospital in Chinyalisaur.

Last evening, “rat miners” – labourers who drill narrow shafts as part of a primitive and currently illegal method of coal extraction – were brought in to manually dig the rocks in the 12-metre last stretch after an American Augur drill had to be withdrawn after its blades got fouled up by the debris and iron rods.