The operation to rescue 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyari lair is anticipated to begin “in the coming 15-20 minutes” and could be completed within two hours, according to one of the officers involved in the frantic 17-day operation who spoke to the news agency ANI late Tuesday night. He mentioned that the workforce from the state and public disaster response forces had entered the revived corridor of the lair to initiate the rescue process.
“The rescue work has been completed, and the trapped workers will start coming out in 15-20 minutes. NDRF brigades will pull out the workers now. It will take around half an hour to rescue all 41 workers.”
Rescue brigades have reportedly cleared the final many meters of debris, thanks to the banned “rat-hole” booby-trapping method employed after the high-tech machines, or augers, failed to drill the necessary 60 meters. They laid two bases wide pipes to create an escape route.
Earlier, Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retired), a member of the National Disaster Management Authority, mentioned that the rescue operation might take “the entire night,” but a “breakthrough” is near.
“We’re close to a breakthrough, but not there yet. Homemade work has continued the entire night, and we’ve reached 58 meters, thanks to our ‘rat miners’ and Army engineers. The trapped workers outside have reported hearing noises of work being done,” Lt. General Hasnain explained.
