New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter Chinook landed in Rishikesh on Wednesday afternoon with the 41 Uttarkashi workers who were rescued on Tuesday night from the collapsed Silykara tunnel after 17 days.
The workers, who were kept under observation at a local hospital in Chinyalisaur after their evacuation, have been shifted to AIIMS Rishikesh, reported ANI.
#WATCH | Uttarkashi tunnel rescue | IAF’s transport aircraft Chinook, carrying 41 rescued workers, arrives in Rishikesh. It has been flown to AIIMS Rishikesh from Chinyalisaur for the workers’ further medical examination.#Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/hrWm1dlxsM
— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2023
According to an AIIMS official, the rescued workers will first be taken to the hospital’s trauma ward and then to the disaster ward for a detailed examination of their health parameters.
Medical experts are of the view that anyone who has been through an ordeal like the 41 workers can suffer from trauma as they had to survive in unimaginable conditions among debris with limited food for 17 days.
So it’s absolutely important to check their condition, even if they haven’t sustained serious physical injuries or damages to their body.
AIIMS Rishikesh has 100 beds in its disaster ward.
Part of the Central government’s Char Dham project, a part of the Silkyara tunnel collapsed due to a landslide on November 12. A team of rat-hole mining experts succeeded in breaking through the last stretch of rubble last evening, before National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force and Assam (SDRF) personnel entered the steel chute to reach the trapped workers and brought them out on wheeled stretchers one by one.