Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: Vitamin Supplements, Anti-Depressants, Dryfruits And More Given To Workers

(MENAFN- AsiaNet News) The eighth day of the rescue operations started late on Sunday morning when rescue personnel started the process of inserting a 6-inch diameter pipe inside the tunnel. In order to free the workers who have been trapped within the tunnel for the past seven days, officials planned to drill a vertical hole from the top of the hill on Saturday.

The government is sending multivitamins, antidepressants and dry fruits to 41 workers trapped for the past seven days in an under-construction tunnel that collapsed in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, Road, Transport and Highways Secretary Anurag Jain said on Sunday.

In a video update on the rescue effort following the collapse of the Uttarkashi tunnel, Jain added that water and power are available in a two-kilometer section of the tunnel. This is the completed section of the 4.531-kilometer, two-lane, bi-directional tunnel at Silkyara in Uttarkashi.

"Fortunately, there is light inside because the electricity is on. There is a pipeline, and thus water is available. There is a 4-inch pipe, which was used for compression. Through that, we are sending food from day 1," he said.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari arrived at the tunnel collapse site to conduct an inspection and look over the rescue works taking place to evacuate the 41 workers trapped there.
Two auger machines are presently working to complete the rescue operations, according to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who also mentioned that many machinery have been deployed at the scene. He further stated, "If the auger machine functions properly, we will be able to reach them (victims) in the next 2-2.5 days."

Gadkari has said that main priority of the state and Centre is to get the workers out as early as possible, adding that he had a two-hour long meeting with the concerned officers at the site.“We are working on 6 alternate options and multiple government agencies are working on the rescue efforts,” Gadkari said.

The Union government also held a high-level meeting on Saturday where five options to rescue the workers were discussed with different agencies assigned with specific alternatives to work on.

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