An organization of 41 employees received cheers Tuesday as they emerged from a collapsed tunnel under the Himalayas, the culmination of a perilous, week-long rescue operation to drill through rocks and debris.
The men were trapped for 17 days, while rescue parties practiced an escape direction across the mountain – with many setbacks due to technical problems – before the last few meters were drilled by hand.
Video footage from the scene showed Pushkar Singh Dhami, chief minister of Uttarakhand state, joining them as they emerged from the tunnel amid scenes of jubilation.
All 41 staff members appear to be in good health, Dhami said at a news conference late Tuesday local time.
“Since they come from very different backgrounds, we will follow the doctor’s advice. They will be monitored first. No one is critical,” Dhami said.
“None of their symptoms are weakness or fever, they’re all healthy. Although there are stretchers for them to get out, they chose to slowly get out on their own,” he said, before thanking the workers, engineers and departments that helped coordinate the rescue mission.
The rescued staff will get a check for 100,000 rupees (about $1,200), Dhami said.
“We will also ask the company that those 41 be allowed to come home and spend time with their families for 15 days, 20 days or 1 month,” Dhami said.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the success of the rescue “makes everyone moved,” in a statement.
“I want to tell the men who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience motivate everyone,” he wrote.
“I also salute the spirit of all those related to this rescue operation. Their courage and determination gave new life to our brother employees. Everyone involved in this project set an example of humanity and teamwork,” Modi added.
The men had been trapped since Nov. 12, when a portion of the tunnel they were helping to build in India’s northern state of Uttarakhand gave way, blocking its exit with more than 200 feet (60 meters) of damaged rock, concrete and twisted metal. .
The first personnel were evacuated after a series of agonizing mishaps, and rescue efforts came to a halt when the heavy machinery used to drill through the rubble broke down, forcing personnel to partially dig by hand and adopt other, riskier strategies to get them to safety.
Engineers first used a drill to drill through the rubble but were forced to abandon their efforts Friday night after the rugged American-made device broke inside the trapped men’s yards, forcing them to dig by hand.
Rescuers were also drilling into the volatile mountainous terrain as a backup means of rescuing trapped men. But in the end, the initial plan proved successful.
Once the drilling was complete, rescuers placed a giant pipe in the last component of the exit shaft so the men could get to safety.
The staff, all migrant workers from some of India’s poorest states, are given food, water and oxygen through a 173-foot (53-meter) pipe inserted into the rubble and the government says they are staying healthy.
Doctors at the scene maintained normal contact with the men inside, giving them recommendations on how to maintain a positive and calm attitude. Their families gather every day as they emerge from the tunnel to pray for their return.
The tunnel is part of Modi’s Char Dham Expressway, a moot multibillion-dollar modernization project. the country’s maritime transport network and connectivity to major Hindu pilgrimage sites in the region.
The task has been criticized by environmentalists who say the heavy structure could seriously damage the Himalayan region, where millions of people are already feeling the effects of the climate crisis.
A panel of experts told India’s Supreme Court that building the roads would “lead to further landslides and soil erosion in an already delicate environment,” according to a 2020 report by the court.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the tunnel collapse and will likely read about the role of drilling in the mountain. CNN contacted India’s Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
The tunnel collapse is one of several recent structural mistakes that have made headlines in India, a country that has reshaped its infrastructure and spent billions to modernize its transportation network.
In August, more than a dozen died after a bridge under a structure collapsed in the northeastern state of Mizoram. In June, a four-lane concrete bridge under structure across the Ganges in the eastern state of Bihar collapsed for the second time in just over a year, raising questions about the quality of its structure.
This photograph provided through the Uttarakhand State Department of Information and Public Relations shows Pushkar Singh Dhami, right, chief minister of the state of Uttarakhand, greeting an employee rescued from the site of a road tunnel beneath a collapsed structure in the northern city of Silkyara. Indian state of Uttarakhand, India, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023. (Uttarakhand State Department of Information and Public Relations, AP)
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