Sleep deprivation was only medical symptom in rescued workers; to be discharged today

Aditi Tandon

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New Delhi, November 30

Sleep deprivation was the only medical symptom 41 workers rescued from Silkyara tunnel battled, with all of them stabilising back to normal sleeping patterns now.

Mentally fit and alert and physically stable, all labourers had problems sleeping inside the 2.5 km tunnel stretch where they were confined for 17 days.

“The loss of sense of time was a major trigger for sleep deprivation in the workers. Even on the night of rescue their sleep patterns were not normal as they experienced an adrenaline rush. In observation now for 48 hours they are all returning to normal and are ready for discharge,” AIIMS Rishikesh Director Meenu Singh told The Tribune on Thursday.

She said arrangements were being made to discharge all workers by Thursday evening.

“We are coordinating with the respective state governments to facilitate their travel back home,” said Singh.

Asked what she thought of the health of workers who had emerged after 17 days of confinement, Singh said there is no case in medical history of the order of Silkyara tunnel rescue.

“We looked up in literature but found nothing. This is the first-of-its-kind case where trapped people have survived such a prolonged confinement so well. The principal reasons were their ability to keep fit and calm inside the tunnel, immaculate crisis management by the government which kept the workers engaged, in touch with the outside world, reassured and provided for with oxygen, water and food, basic survival packages. Equally important was the capacity of these workers to stick together and keep themselves productively engaged. They said they prayed, sang and danced inside to entertain themselves and never lost hope,” Singh said.

AIIMS Rishikesh will now take up the Silkyara tunnel rescue as a medical case study and do a follow-up on each worker for six months.