Jharkhand govt to airlift trapped workers after Silkyara tunnel evacuation

The Jharkhand government has planned to airlift workers belonging to the state who were among the 41 people trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand after their rescue.

There are around 15 workers from Jharkhand trapped in the tunnel.

An official from the Jharkhand labour department present at the rescue spot told PTI that the state government has planned to airlift the workers belonging to their state.

Another official said the rescued workers will be taken to a hospital at Chilyanisaur in Uttarkashi where a separate ward with 41 oxygen-supported beds has been prepared.

Depending upon their medical condition, they will be kept under observation at the hospital before being allowed to go back to their homes.

The trapped workers belong to Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam.

The multi-agency effort to rescue 41 men trapped in the Silkyara tunnel appeared close to success on Wednesday evening.

Till 6 pm, up to 44 metres of an escape pipe had been inserted into the debris of the collapsed stretch of the tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, an official update said in Delhi.

By this count, just 13 metres of debris remained to be drilled through.