A study that examined the mental health of the workers who got trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel that collapsed in 2023 revealed that about a third of them suffered from time disorientation, thereby resulting in sleep issues.
On November 12, 2023, the under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand's district of Uttarkashi collapsed. Over 40 workers had been trapped for 17 days before rescue efforts were successful.
Experts from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, explained that partly due to a disruption of light-dark cycles, victims of a tunnel collapse experience mental health and sleep problems which are different to those reported in other disasters.
Read: Telangana Tunnel Rescuers Face Increased Risk, Says Australian Expert
Eight people have been trapped after a section of a tunnel, part of the Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project in Telangana's Nagarkurnool district, collapsed on Saturday. A team of rat mining experts, who had rescued the construction workers trapped in the Silkyara Bend-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand in 2023, has joined the rescue teams to extricate the men.
The findings of the study on the mental health of the workers who were trapped in the Silkyara tunnel, published in the journal Sleep Medicine in January, reveal "a need for triaging (among victims) while providing mental health and sleep-related interventions in such circumstances."
The researchers interviewed 33 Uttarkashi tunnel workers about their daily regime, concerns, sleep routines, circadian rhythm and orientation to time during the time they were trapped. The participants also responded to questionnaires assessing their anxiety, depression and sleep.
Read: Water, Debris Pose Challenge To Rescuers At Collapsed Telangana Tunnel
The workers reported "a mix of hope and worry in the initial days", the experts said.
The experts found that one-third of the trapped Silkyara tunnel workers were disoriented about the passage of time which was related to difficulty in falling asleep and more nappings. Further, the depressed had more difficulty in the onset, maintenance and termination of sleep and reported a reduced total sleep time.
The researchers said emotions and sleep-related problems have never been looked at in a disaster situation such as a tunnel collapse in which the healthy are affected not by a loss of personal property or displacement, but due to uncertainties stemming from an extended rescue operation.
"In this paper, we are highlighting the emotional and sleep-related consequences of a disaster where affected persons find themselves trapped in a tunnel with dwindling hope for their safety across the days," the authors of the study said.
They added that a light-dark cycle needs to be established among the workers to address time disorientation.
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