Rescuers involved in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi tunnel rescue operation are battling against time to evacuate 41 construction workers who have been trapped under debris for over 170 hours following a tunnel collapse.

The prolonged confinement of workers inside the Uttarkashi tunnel is raising serious concerns about their well-being, while leaving their families in distress.

The officials have said they will drill a vertical hole on Sunday from the top of the hill under which the workers have been trapped inside the collapsed tunnel with limited food and communication.

Work to build a platform to start vertical drilling began last evening after high-performance drilling machine was brought to the site from Madhya Pradesh's Indore, NDTV reported.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari oversees Silkyara tunnel rescue, emphasizing collective responsibility. Despite soil challenges, horizontal drilling with an American auger is a key method.

Six rescue options are pursued with PMO oversight, ensuring swift evacuation and necessary support. Ongoing supplies of essentials for trapped workers, including diverse food items.?

The report mentioned a team of officials from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and experts at the site are also working simultaneously on five plans to rescue the 41 men.?

"The experts were one in their view that rather than working on just one plan we should work at the same time on five plans to reach the trapped workers as early as possible," the report quoted Bhaskar Khulbe, former advisor to the Prime Minister.

Khulbe said the workers are likely to be rescued in four-five days with concerted efforts of the agencies. "But if the gods are kind enough, it could happen even earlier than that," he said.

Drilling was stopped on Friday evening after officials heard a sudden "cracking sound" from the machine.

The Centre also held a high-level meeting where the five options to rescue the workers were discussed with different agencies assigned with specific alternatives to work on, the report quoting sources said.

NHIDCL's MD Mahmood Ahmed has been appointed in-charge for coordination with all the central agencies.

It has been an agonising wait for the families keeping vigil outside. Their voices are getting weaker, their strength seemingly dimming, family members said after speaking to some of the workers.

Doctors have also emphasised the need for comprehensive rehabilitation for the trapped workers, fearing that the prolonged confinement may necessitate both mental and physical recovery processes.

The 41 workers have been stuck since Sunday morning after a portion of the tunnel caved in. Officials said that all workers are safe and are being supplied food and water through steel pipes that have been drilled into the opening.

The under-construction tunnel is part of the ambitious Char Dham project, a national infrastructure initiative to enhance connectivity to the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.
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