Silkyara tunnel survivors brought to AIIMS Rishikesh, doctors say health conditions normal

Lucknow: All the 41 labourers who were rescued from the Silkyara tunnel on Tuesday, were brought to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Rishikesh on Wednesday for their precautionary medical check ups.

The labourers, who had been trapped inside the tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand after a portion of  the same collapsed on the morning of November 12, were taken to the primary health centre at Chinyalisour immediately after being brought out.

The labourers were taken to AIIMS, Rishikesh by a Indian Air Force (IAF) Chinook helicopter, according to the officials. A team of doctors was present at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun when the chopper landed there with the labourers.

An AIIMS official said in Rishikesh that all the labourers were admitted to the hospital where they would be thoroughly examined. He, however, added that the labourers appeared to be in good condition.

The official said that the labourers' behaviour was 'normal' and their blood pressure, oxygenation, and other vitals were also within the normal range. ''We will conduct some basic tests....if required more tests will be conducted,'' the official added.

He said that the labourers had no external injuries and added that they would also be psychiatrically evaluated.  

Although the AIIMS officials would not say how long the labourers would remain admitted there, sources said that they might be discharged in a day or two. ''It is difficult to say when they will be discharged,'' said the official.

Earlier, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met the labourers at Chinyalisour primary health centre and handed each of them cheques of Rs one lakh.

As many as 41 labourers from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and Assam were trapped after a portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12. They were brought out of the tunnel on Tuesday.

The tunnel, which was 4.5 kilometres long, was being constructed from Silkyara to Dandalgaon on the Yamunotri National Highway under the Char Dham Road project. The tunnel would reduce the distance from Uttarkashi to Yamunotri by around 26 kilometres.