New Delhi : After the safe evacuation of 41 trapped workers from the Silkyara tunnel on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the rescued men over the phone.

उत्तरकाशी में हमारे श्रमिक भाइयों के रेस्क्यू ऑपरेशन की सफलता हर किसी को भावुक कर देने वाली है।

टनल में जो साथी फंसे हुए थे, उनसे मैं कहना चाहता हूं कि आपका साहस और धैर्य हर किसी को प्रेरित कर रहा है। मैं आप सभी की कुशलता और उत्तम स्वास्थ्य की कामना करता हूं।

यह अत्यंत…

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 28, 2023

All 41 men, who were rescued from the collapsed tunnel after 17 days, have been brought to the Community Health Centre in Chinyalisaur for primary medical treatment.

#WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue |On worshipping God daily and the challenges, international tunnelling expert, Arnold Dix says, “I didn’t ask anything for me, I asked for 41 people out there… and for all the people helping… We couldn’t get anyone hurt…” pic.twitter.com/S7aMBEiktz

— ANI (@ANI) November 29, 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his conversation with the workers said he was happy that all the workers had been evacuated safely.

“I have put my telephone on speaker so that the people sitting with me can also listen to you. First of all, I congratulate all of you and all your colleagues. You were able to come out in a happy state even after such a long wait, and it is a matter of great happiness for me. I can’t even describe it in words.”

“It was Kedarnath Baba’s and Badrinath Ji’s grace; you are all well. You also showed great courage, and you encouraged each other. This is the biggest thing because, even while travelling together in a rail compartment sometimes difference occur. Despite that, you remained so patient. I used to keep taking in information continuously. I was also in constant touch with the Chief Minister. When my officers would update me on the work, I used to be concerned as the rescue was taking time. It is due to the prayers of your families and friends that you have been able to win over this crisis” PM Modi added.

One of the workers told the Prime Minister that they were never apprehensive or scared because all of them were together all the time.

“We never felt scared or demotivated as all 41 of us were together. We would eat out dinner together and then I would tell the workers let’s all walk together. The place where we were trapped was about 2.5 kilometres so we would walk along that and also do yoga. Since we didn’t have any work this was important for us. I want to thank the Government of Uttrakhand who supported us during these days. The Chief Minister would contact us and we are grateful to him as well. And General VK Singh was always there outside the tunnel”

The workers name include Viswajit Kumar, Subodh Kumar, Rajendra Bedia, Sukram, Tinku Sardar, Gunodhar, Sameer, Ravindra, Ranjeet, Mahadev, Bhukttu Murmu, Jamra Oraon, Vijay Horo, Ganapati – all from Jharkhand, Gabbar Singh Negi, and Pushkar – both from Uttarakhand, Saba Ahmed, Sonu Sah, Virendra Kiskoo, and Sushil Kumar – all from Bihar, Manir Talukdar, Sevik Pakhera, and Jaydev Parmanik – all from West Bengal, Akhilesh Kumar, Ankit, Ram Milan, Satya Dev, Santosh, Jai Prakash, Ram Sundar, and Manjit – all from Uttar Pradesh, Tapan Mandal, Bhagwan Batra, Viseshar Naik, Raju Naik, and Dhiren – all from Odisha, Sanjay and Ram Prasad from Assam, and Vishal from Himachal Pradesh.

A medical check-up of 41 workers who were successfully rescued from the Silkyara Tunnel located on Uttarkashi-Yamnotri Road is going on at Chiniyalisaur Community Health Centre.
According to government sources, all the workers admitted to the health centre are being given food as per the doctors’ advice.

Earlier, after the successful rescue of 41 workers from the Silkyara tunnel on Tuesday evening, Dr Pravin Kumar, Health Director of Garhwal Division, in charge of the rescue operation, highlighted that constant communication with the trapped workers helped in maintaining their mental health stability.

When asked about the health challenges workers faced while they were trapped, Dr. Pravin Kumar said, “The workers were not diagnosed with any major ailments. Some of the workers faced difficulty passing urine and allergies, and we treated them accordingly. Water, juice, and food were constantly provided to the workers.”
Meanwhile, after 17 days of tense anticipation, relief and happiness enveloped the faces of the family members of 41 trapped workers upon receiving news of their successful rescue from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi on Tuesday evening.

The emotional moment unfolded as the culmination of exhaustive rescue efforts that captured the nation’s attention.
The families, enduring prolonged desperation, celebrated the rescue and wholeheartedly thanked the government for bringing their loved ones back.

They marked the occasion by bursting crackers and distributing sweets. Some family members engaged in video conferencing with the workers to ensure their well-being.
Many relatives, who had reached the site a couple of days after the incident and had been camping there since were finally reunited with their loved ones.