Uttarakhand tunnel rescue
On 12 November 2023, a section of the Silkyara Bend–Barkot tunnel, planned to connect National Highway 134 in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, India, caved in while under construction. The collapse occurred at around 05:30 IST and trapped 41 workers inside the tunnel.
| Date |
|
|---|---|
| Time | 05:30 IST |
| Location | Silkyara Bend–Barkot tunnel, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India |
| Coordinates | 30°45′26.9″N 78°15′48.8″E |
| Cause | Tunnel collapse |
| Outcome | All 41 trapped workers rescued |
Rescue operations were immediately launched, with a number of government agencies involved, including the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force, Uttarakhand Police, engineers from the Indian Army Corps of Engineers, and Project Shivalik of the Border Roads Organisation. Numerous private resources were utilized in the rescue efforts as well, including Australian tunnelling experts Arnold Dix and Chris Cooper.
Though the initial attempts at a rescue were complicated because of the kinds of debris created in the collapse, the government brought in "rat-hole" miners who were able to use manual mining methods to get an access pipe to the trapped workers. All 41 workers were rescued, and the collapse triggered a safety audit of other tunnels in the area.