Cheers and jubilation erupted yesterday as rescuers in India reached 41 construction workers who had been trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel for 17 days in the country's north and started pulling them out, officials said.
After less than an hour, 34 individuals had been rescued. As the workers were being pulled from the wreckage, Kirti Panwar, a government spokesperson, said: “All are safe and sound.”
The men were pulled out through a passageway made of welded pipes that rescuers previously pushed through dirt and rocks. From there, they each went through an initial health check-up at a temporary medical camp set up inside the 13m-wide (42.6ft) tunnel.
As the first worker was pulled out, Pushkar Singh Dhami, the top elected official in the state of Uttarakhand, presented him with a garland and hung it around his neck as rescuers, officials and relatives cheered.
This story is from the November 29, 2023 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the November 29, 2023 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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