WATCH: How 41 workers trapped in Uttarkashi tunnel will be pulled out on wheeled stretchers

The moment of safe recuse of 41 workers trapped inside an under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi is approaching. Amid this, NDRF has demonstrated how it will be pulling out the labourers on wheeled stretchers through a big pipe that has been pushed through the rubble to reach them.

A video shared on Friday showed a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) demonstrating the use of wheeled stretchers to pull out trapped workers inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi once the horizontal pipe reaches the other side.

The video shows how each worker will have to lie low on the wheeled stretcher after which the NDRF personnel will pull it with the help of a rope.

On Thursday, a team of NDRF entered the tunnel equipped with rescue gear.

By Thursday, the government’s horizontal drilling reached about 67 per cent completion, having drilled the escape pipeline to a distance of 45 metres, with a remaining 12 metres to reach the area where 41 workers are trapped behind the rubble.

Meanwhile, drilling work will start shortly on Friday.

The operation to rescue 41 trapped workers in Uttarakhand was paused late on Thursday evening after a mechanical glitch. This was the third time that the drilling exercise had been halted.

Also Read: Choppers, green corridor, beds in AIIMS… : What happens to 41 workers trapped inside Uttarkashi tunnel when rescued

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

“Hopefully, we will be able to move ahead smoothly. May get breakthrough in next 12 to 15 hours,” Bhaskar Khulbe, former advisor to the prime minister’s office said.

Workers trapped inside the Uttarkashi tunnel were seen for the first time on Tuesday (21 November) as a camera inserted through a pipe captured their visuals.

The workers have been trapped inside after a portion of the under-construction tunnel caved in on 12 November. Earlier this week, an endoscopic flexi camera was pushed inside the tunnel through a six-inch pipe inserted through the rubble to send food to the trapped workers.

The visuals captured in the camera showed the labourers in their hard hats and work gear, waving to the camera, communicating that they were coping well.

Meanwhile, officials at the spot said all the trapped workers are safe and are being supplied food and water through steel pipes that have been drilled into the opening.

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