Ten days into a daunting rescue effort, over 40 workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand were seen for the first time early on Tuesday morning as a camera inserted through a pipe captured their visuals.

Rescue teams on Monday pushed a six-inch-wide pipeline through the rubble of the collapsed tunnel, allowing the supply of larger quantities of food and live visuals of the 41 workers trapped inside for eight days, ANI reported.

The visuals were captured using an endoscopic camera sent in through the 6-inch food pipeline. The camera is being used to count the trapped workers and understand the internal geography of the tunnel.

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In the video, the workers, wearing yellow and white helmets, are seen receiving food items sent to them through the pipeline and talking to each other. Rescue officials, speaking to the workers through Walkie Talkies or radio handsets, were also seen asking the workers to come in front of the camera.

“Aap camera ke paas walkie talkie pe aake baat karein (come in front of the camera and talk to us through Walkie Talkie),” an official was heard asking them.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami shared the video of the workers, saying that they all are safe and will be rescued soon.

The workers also had their first hot meal in 10 days as khichdi (porridge) in glass bottles was sent through the pipe last night. Till now, they had survived on dry fruits and water.

Uttarkashi tunnel collapse

41 workers have been trapped since a portion of the under-construction tunnel caved in on November 12 in the Uttarkashi district.

Over the past week, repeated attempts to rescue the workers have failed because of challenges including the topography and the nature of rocks in the area. Landslides also blocked efforts last week.

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The Centre has devised a five-option action plan that involves drilling from three sides to access the trapped workers. Five different agencies have been tasked with carrying out each operation.

The round-the-clock rescue work is being carried out by multiple agencies, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). An international tunnelling expert team reached the collapse site on Monday and joined the efforts. A robotics team from defence research organization DRDO has also joined the efforts.

The under-construction tunnel is part of the ambitious Char Dham project, a national infrastructure initiative to enhance connectivity to the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.

(With inputs from agencies)