Uttarkashi Tunnel: Trapped workers face ticking trauma

21 Nov 2023 CW Team

Behind the collapsed section of the tunnel in Uttarkashi, mental health experts have indicated that camaraderie and mutual support among the trapped workers might transform into acute psychological trauma as the days pass and uncertainty hangs over them, according to clinical psychologists and psychiatrists familiar with the potential responses of the mind to isolation, confinement, and lack of privacy.

The trapped workers, currently receiving food and water, may need psychological first-aid both during their confinement and after rescue, as suggested by these experts. The 41 workers have been confined in a 240-meter segment of the under-construction tunnel for over eight days. Despite multiple unsuccessful attempts to drill a passage through the rubble, authorities are now seeking an alternative rescue route.

Professor TS Sathyanarayan Rao, a psychiatry expert at JSS Hospital, Mysore, stated that the breakdown of individuals will depend on their individual levels of hardiness, resilience, and coping capacity.

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