Daring mission to be completed soon; Uttarakhand tunnel rescue mission reaches 11th day

UTTARKASHI: The world is about to witness one daring rescue mission in the coming days as video footage surfaced on Tuesday showing trapped workers inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand.

"Everybody get in front of the camera....raise your hands...smile...we'll be there soon, don't worry..." these instructions were given by rescue workers through loudspeakers which made the trapped workers come near the camera one by one. The footage showed the workers buying food parcels delivered through pipes and talking to each other. Their anxious relatives waiting outside couldn’t hold back tears seeing their close ones enduring such hazardous times.

The video footage was captured by a modern endoscopic camera and passed through a six-inch pipeline that was excavated from the debris in the tunnel on Monday. This is the type of camera that is used in the human body to perform surgery and so on. The stranded workers approached the camera and talked words of comfort and asked their loved ones not to be worried.

Hot food was also delivered through this pipe for the first time. Khichdi, Dry fruits, oranges, medicine, mobile phones and chargers were delivered. Gabbar Singh Negi, the oldest of the stranded workers, has previous experience of getting trapped inside tunnels and is spreading words of courage to his fellow mates, said psychologist Dr Abhishek Sharma.

Auger machines, which drive iron pipes through the rubble, have reportedly resumed drilling. It is reported that 34 meters were drilled through more than 60 meters of remains.