A portion of an under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway collapsed early on November 12, trapping around 40 workers inside, officials in Uttarkashi district said. Personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and the police launched a search and rescue operation immediately after being informed of the accident, Superintendent of Police (Uttarkashi) Arpan Yaduvanshi said. Quoting officials from National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, which is building the tunnel, Yaduvanshi had initially put the number of labourers trapped in the tunnel at 36. However, the District Emergency Operation Centre later released a list of 40 labourers trapped inside. They were from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Oxygen is being pumped into the collapsed section of the tunnel, which is part of the Char Dham all-weather road project, through a water pipe so that the trapped labourers do not have difficulty breathing, Yaduvanshi said. The rescue operation has been going on for the past 12 hours but without any breakthrough so far. However, those trapped inside have sent out signals that indicate they are safe, an official at the site said. About 160 rescuers are trying to reach the trapped labourers with the help of drilling equipment and excavators, the District Emergency Operation Centre said. Some more equipment such as a vertical drilling machine are about to reach the site to assist the rescue efforts. | 