Bhubaneswar: Five workers from Odisha are among the forty trapped inside the under contraction tunnel in Uttarkasi in Uttarakhand. According to sources, the five Odia workers were working in the Yamunotri National Highway Tunnel when the mishap occurred. The Odia workers are identified as Tapan Mandal from Sankarshanpur, Bhagaban Batra from Nabarangpur, Bisweswar Nayak from Mayurbhanj, Raju Naik from Mayurbhanj and Dhiren from Badakudar. According to reports, all the trapped workers are safe and communication has been established with them. The rescue teams are supplying food and oxygen to them through a pipeline.
The tunnel is a part of the Char Dham project and is supposed to connect Silkyara to Dangalgaon, reducing the distance between them by at least 25 kms when completed. ADG Law and Order A.P. Anshuman said that no death has been reported yet. The NDR, SDRF and other rescue teams have reached the spot along with the police force.
According to the information, the accident happened at 5a.m. on Sunday at a distance of 200 meters from the tunnel entrance towards Silkyara, while the workers were 2,800 meters inside the entrance. With a total length of 4.5 km, construction of 4 km has already been completed. It was supposed to be completed by September 2023, but has been delayed.