Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: NDRF conducts evacuation rehearsal using wheeled stretchers
Uttarkashi (PTI): The NDRF on Friday conducted a rehearsal of how it would take its wheeled stretchers through the chute being prepared to rescue the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel.
An NDRF personnel went through the passage, pushing a wheeled stretcher tied to a rope at the end of the tunnel and was pulled back up after completing the stretch.
A passage has been made using 800 mm diameter steel pipes through the rubble at the tunnel to rescue the workers who have been trapped inside for the past 12 days.
An NDRF personnel who went into the passage was lying on the wheeled stretcher facing downwards.
There was enough room inside the pipes and he had no difficulty in breathing during the exercise, he said.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has been camping at Matli since Thursday to closely monitor the rescue operations.
A temporary camp of the chief minister's office has been set up there to help him perform his daily duties.
The drilling and pushing pipes through the rubble has not yet been resumed at the tunnel.
The rescuers have to drill 12-14 metres more through the rubble to reach the trapped workers on the other side.
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Two workers trapped after wall of opencast coal mine collapses in Jharkhand
Hazaribag (PTI): Two workers have been trapped after the wall of an opencast mine collapsed on a truck in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district, police said on Sunday.
The accident occurred around 11 pm on Saturday in the command area of Central Coalfield Limited (CCL) under the Urimari Police Station limits when the highwall of the mine caved in on the coal-loading vehicle, a senior officer said.
A highwall in mining is the face of exposed overburden and coal in a mine, and its stability is important for safety of miners and equipment, experts said.
The trapped coal workers, who were on the truck when the accident occurred, were identified as Sunil Yadav (30) and Raju Paswan (50), Barkagaon sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Pawan Kumar said.
"A rescue operation is underway for the two workers. Another person has already been rescued from the accident site and admitted to a hospital here," he added.
The trapped workers could not be rescued on Saturday night due to darkness, fog and a protest by coal workers there, the SDPO said.
The labourers at the opencast mine stopped their coal extraction activities after the accident, he added.
