Uttarakhand tunnel rescue: ‘I might have heard they’re playing cricket,' says expert. Watch

International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix speaks to reporters on Tuesday. (Image credit: PTI)

International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix, who has been roped in to rescue 41 workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand, said that he was confident that the drilling operation is "coming along very well". He even added that he might have heard the trapped workers playing cricket inside the tunnel.

"I just feel good. The drilling on top of the mountain is coming along perfectly, in the tunnel, it's coming along very well. I have never said 'I feel good' before. I might have heard they (trapped workers) are playing cricket," Arnold Dix told reporters on Tuesday near the rescue site.

VIDEO | "I just feel good. The drilling on top of the mountain is coming along perfectly, in the tunnel, it's coming along very well. I have never said 'I feel good' before. I might have heard they (trapped workers) are playing cricket," says international tunnelling expert… pic.twitter.com/rg1LLKCG43

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The rescue operation has been underway for 17 days, with teams of experts and emergency responders working tirelessly to reach the trapped individuals.

With just five metres left to achieve a breakthrough in digging through the rubble of the Silkyara tunnel, preparations were underway on Tuesday to rush the trapped workers to a hospital for immediate medical care following their rescue.

A separate ward comprising 41 oxygen-supported beds has been readied at the community health centre in Chinyalisaur, about 30 km from Silkyara, for the workers.

Earlier in the day, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke of challenges that the rescue workers have been facing."Stones are coming in the way but they are being broken using cutters," he said. "Pipe has gone in up to 52 metres. Earlier it was at 51 metres. It was pushed one metre further in my presence. It will be pushed two metres more to 54 metres after which one more pipe will be laid," Dhami said.

(With inputs from PTI)

Read more: Once he is out, we won't allow him to work here again: Father of worker trapped inside Silkyara tunnel