Father Dies a Day Before Son’s Rescue from Uttarkashi Tunnel

Jamshedpur: Over 70 years old Barsa Murmu could not see his youngest son rescued alive from the collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand as he passed away after waiting anxiously for 16 days for his trapped son’s return.

Barsa, a resident of Bahda village in Dumaria block of East Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, died on Tuesday morning shortly after enquiring about his son Bhaktu, who was stranded in the collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand.

On the next day, Bhaktu was among the 41 workers rescued from the under-construction Silkyara tunnel. Bhaktu was one of the 15 workers from Jharkhand who were trapped in the under-construction tunnel since November 12.

According to the relatives, Barsa was very close to his youngest son and regularly sought information about his condition. They claimed Barsa died of shock.

Barsa’s funeral was held at the village on Wednesday as it was not clear when Bhaktu would return home. None of Barsa’s three sons were present at the time of his death. Bhaktu’s elder brother Ramrai works in Chennai while his other brother Mangal works as a labourer in another village.