Bhubaneswar, Nov 28 (PTI) Celebrations broke out in Odisha on Tuesday evening after all 41 workers including five from the state who were trapped inside an under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand, were rescued.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik thanked the rescue team for evacuating the workers from the Silkyara tunnel after almost 17 days.

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It was a festival-like atmosphere in the villages of the five workers from the state as people distributed sweets, beat drums and danced to the tune of music.

The family members of the five were now relieved and thanked the government and all agencies involved in the massive rescue operation.

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"It gives me immense pleasure to learn about the successful rescue operation and I am very happy that our workers will return home safe," Patnaik said in a statement.

The state government has sent a team and the family members of the trapped Odia labourers to the site in Uttarkashi district, he said.

The chief minister thanked the Uttarakhand government, NDRF and the Defence team for the successful rescue operation and said:

"This proves that India can do anything and everything to save the lives of its citizens."

The five workers of Odisha who were trapped in the tunnel were Khirod (Raju) Nayak, Dhiren Nayak and Bisweswar Nayak from Mayurbhanj district, Bhagwan Bhatra of Nabarangpur and Tapan Mandal of Bhadrak district.

Locals in Bhatra's village Talabeda celebrated by bursting firecrackers and beating drums and gongs.

"We are very happy to learn that Bhagawan was rescued safely from the tunnel. We thank God for this," said the worker's sister-in-law.

After the rescue operation was completed, locals at Bangriposi greeted the family members of Dhiren Nayak.

"I got a call from our family member who is camped there in Uttarakhand that my husband has been rescued safely," said Dhiren's wife.

Thanking the personnel involved in the rescue operation, Khirod's father Mochiram Nayak said he will not allow his son to go to Uttarakhand again for work.

"I request the state government to provide work to my son here," he stated.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)