All 40 workers trapped in an under-construction tunnel on the Char Dham route are safe and being sent food and water, authorities assured Monday but said the rescue operation could take up to two more days.
A portion of the tunnel under construction between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway collapsed in the early hours of Sunday.
All workers trapped are safe and communicating, officials said on Monday as Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the site.
While oxygen started being supplied to the trapped labourers immediately after the launch of rescue operations on Sunday, they could only get drinking water and light food after contact was first established with them past midnight.
Secretary Disaster Management Ranjit Kumar Sinha who visited the tunnel said the trapped labourers could be rescued by Tuesday night or Wednesday.
The rescue strategy is now focused on stabilising loose muck by shotcreting (concrete spraying) and pushing in a large diametre steel pipe through the rubble to evacuate trapped workers. -- PTI