Initial 10 days were tough, says Uttarkashi tunnel survivor

Dipender Manta

Mandi, November 29

Vishal, a construction worker and a native of Bangot village in Mandi district, remained trapped inside a tunnel at Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand along with 40 other workers for 17 days since November 12 . He told The Tribune that initial 10 days inside the tunnel after its collapse were tough.

Recalling the horrifying experience, he said, “There was shortage of food material inside the tunnel early on and we survived on dry fruits and popcorn sent from outside through a pipe inserted for oxygen supply in the tunnel. After that, we got sufficient food supply from outside through a pipe which kept our hopes of survival high.”

He said, “Frequent communication with our near and dear ones as well as local administration of Uttarakhand further boosted our hopes. We were assured that we will be rescued within a few days. The rescue teams were working day and night to evacuate us. Inside the tunnel, there was a sufficient place for our stay as it is almost 2.2-km long.”

“We are thankful to the Central Government, Uttarakhand Government and the rescue agencies for evacuating us safely,” he added.