DEHRADUN: With hopes rising that 41 workers trapped in the under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi’s Silkyara may be evacuated soon, ambulances and helicopters are on standby to ferry rescued workers to hospitals, reports Shivani Azad.Also See: Uttarakhand Tunnel Collapse LiveChief medical officer of Uttarkashi Dr RCS Panwar said, “We will have at least one ambulance per person along with his attendant in it.A 40-bed Covid ward at Chinyalisaur community health centre will be used for medical assistance.

Those who require advanced treatment will be taken to the district hospital.

We have more doctors coming in from Dehradun too.”“Two choppers have also been kept on standby by the disaster management team at Chinyalisaur,” the CMO added.According to health experts, the trapped workers could face various medical conditions such as respiratory diseases because of being cooped in a non-ventilated tunnel for 11 days and lack of Vitamin D due to lack of exposure to sunlight.TOI sources said “15 doctors have been called to monitor the workers’ health”.

The director-general of the health department, Dr Vinita Shah, visited the tunnel site on Wednesday to take stock of the situation and directed officials “to ensure that health workers are not given leave until the rescue operation ends”.