“Biggest operations in history of India…” NDRF celebrates successful Silkyara Tunnel evacuation

Nov 29, 2023

Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand), Nov 29 (ANI): After tireless efforts of rescuers which continued for 16 days, all 41 trapped workers were evacuated successfully from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel evacuated the workers through the pipes inserted through the debris. Talking to ANI after the successful rescue, NDRF personnel Manmohan Singh Rawat said “As soon as I entered inside, all the 41 trapped workers shouted ‘NDRF ki jai ho’, they were all extremely happy. It was a little difficult to enter inside but we were trained very well...Three people went inside and then some SDRF rescuers also joined us. The first worker rescued was the oldest among them...It took us around 1.5 hours to rescue all the 41 workers...” “Rescuing 41 trapped workers itself was a challenge...last intervention was a joint operation from NDRF and SDRF...so many agencies were involved in the rescue operations...this operation happened successfully because of the proper coordination...” NDRF DIG Mohsen Shahidi said. “Our officers are always ready to face this kind of challenges...this was one of the biggest operations in the history of our nation...” said NDRF personnel Suresh Kumar Daral.