On Tuesday evening, rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation.

Union Minister VK Singh and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami welcomed the workers as National Disaster Response Force men brought them out through a steel chute that lined a 60-metre escape passage.

An ambulance with the first of the 41 workers left the mouth of the tunnel around 8 pm. The final phase of the delicate operation was completed in about an hour.

Outside the tunnel, some people chanted “Har Har Mahadev” and “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.

The labourers had been stuck in the tunnel being built since it caved in early on November 12. Food, medicines, and other essentials were sent to them through a six-inch pipe pushed through the rubble of the collapsed portion.