Member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Lt General (Rtd) Syed Ata Hasnain has said on Friday that keeping in mind all possibilities, preparations were being made to make sure that the trapped workers can endure more time inside the Silyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. He also revealed that the team intends to progress with the rest of the operation very “deliberately” in view of the obstacles in the debris.

Addressing the media, National Media Centre in New Delhi, Lt Gen Hasnain said that the 41 workers inside the Uttarakhand tunnel have been speaking to their families and relatives. They have toiletries, food and drinks and even recreational equipment to boost their morale, he added.

Speaking about the evacuation demonstration that took place on Friday where an NDMA personnel was push inside the tunnel on a wheeled stretcher and then pulled back, the Rtd Lt Gen remarked that the NDMA personnels are trained for such operations but a regular person may get claustrophobic in such a situation. He further informed that once everything is ready for the evacuation, a paramedic will be sent through to the 41 workers to check on their immediate state of health and to determine which worker should go first.

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Lt Gen Hasnain also assured that everything is ready post the evacuation including ambulance, doctors, psychologists. He also mentioned that workers needing hospitalization will be taken to AIIMS Rishikesh.

41 labourers have been inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi district since a landslide trapped them on the morning of 12th November 2023.

Read more: Uttarakhand CM leaves for Silkyara tunnel site as rescue operation makes progress