"Childhood Returned, We Played Chor Sipahi": Rescued Worker On Tunnel Time

Pushkar Singh Ari from Champavat in Uttarakhand is currently at the makeshift hospital near the tunnel

As each second felt like an hour during their long confinement inside an Uttarakhand tunnel, the trapped workers started playing games such as 'Raja Mantri Chor Sipahi' to distract themselves and keep despair at bay, one of the rescued workers told NDTV this morning.

Pushkar Singh Ari from Champavat in Uttarakhand is currently at the makeshift hospital near the tunnel following his rescue with 41 others last night. The workers left the tunnel after a 17-day operation full of multiple setbacks that kept the nation on the edge.

Asked when they would be allowed to go home, he said over the phone, "Nothing is confirmed yet. They are saying we may be taken to AIIMS, Rishikesh for CT scans. They are saying our condition will be monitored for 24 hours." Asked if any of his family members are accompanying him at the hospital, Mr Ari said his brother Vikram is with him.