After an intense 17-day engineering operation, rescuers successfully extracted all 41 of the trapped individuals from the collapsed Himalayan road tunnel, to the joyous cheers and flower garlands of the workers.
After being hauled through 57 meters (187 feet) of steel pipe on stretchers specially fitted with wheels, the rescued men were greeted by state officials and given hugs from their families, all while grinning broadly and being hailed as heroes.
Crowds outside the tunnel erupted in cheers, “Hail mother India!” when word was received that everyone had safely escaped the partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand, in the Himalayan state. They had been under the tunnel since November 12.
After earlier attempts to reach the men were repeatedly thwarted by falling debris and the failure of several drilling machines, relatives outside rejoiced. The government claimed that the rescue operation was carried out in “challenging Himalayan terrain.
“Naiyer Ahmad, whose younger brother Sabah Ahmad was one of the trapped workers and who had been camped out in the icy cold for more than two weeks, told AFP, “We are thankful to God and the rescuers who worked hard to save them.”
Sabah Ahmad’s wife, Musarrat Jahan, told AFP over the phone from Bihar state, where she had been fervently waiting for news. “We are extremely happy, no words can explain it,” Jahan said.”We not only received a new life, but also my spouse. We won’t soon forget it.
A three-person team working at the rock face inside a metal pipe, just wide enough for someone to squeeze through, called a “rat-hole” technique was used by military engineers and experienced miners to dig the last section by hand after the operation repeatedly failed.
Before Tuesday, the workers were seen alive for the first time last week, peering into the lens of an endoscopic camera sent by rescuers down a thin pipe through which air, food, water and electricity were delivered.AFP—Follow us for more breaking news and videos.
The first time the workers were spotted alive was last week, when they were seen through the endoscope of a rescuer’s camera looking down a small pipe that carried food, water, power, and air. That was last Tuesday.
Credit: AFP, Edited By AfricTeam
