Forty of the 41 workers, who were pulled out of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand on November 28, have been declared physically and mentally fit to return home after a thorough check-up at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Rishikesh, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The remaining worker, too, will be discharged once his medical report comes, the official added.

The 41 workers were buried under a mountain on November 12 when they were attempting to complete the final 400m stretch of the 4.5km-long tunnel on the Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi district. They were eventually rescued on November 28, after an arduous 17-day-long rescue operation and airlifted to AIIMS-Rishikesh for a medical examination.

The workers were kept under medical observation for 24 hours and were thoroughly examined.

“After the preliminary examination, no worker was found with any injury or any kind of medical issue. However, a thorough medical examination was done to ascertain the complete status of their health. After several tests, they all were found physically fit and clinically stable. They have been given a clearance certificate so that they can go to their native places,” medical superintendent of AIIMS-Rishikesh, Dr RB Kalia, said.

“Only changes that occur in workers working in higher altitude Himalayan regions have been found in them. There is nothing serious and cause for concern. All states have been sent intimation in this regard,” he added.

He, however, said that “these workers could see mental changes in the coming time”. “All those who have been discharged have been asked to visit their nearest health facility after two weeks, if needed,” he added.

Virendra Nautiyal, an official from the PRO department of the AIIMS-Rishikesh, said: “We have discharged 40 of the 41 construction workers from our facility. They were found physically and mentally stable. The remaining one worker is still with us since some of his medical reports are awaited.”

Dr Anindya Das, a psychiatrist from the hospital, said: “They all have been found mentally fit in our examination.”

Meanwhile, the Jharkhand government airlifted the 15 labourers from the state from Dehradun to Delhi on Thursday and from there they will be flown to Ranchi on Friday morning.

“All 15 workers will be flown to from Delhi to Jharkhand tomorrow. Then they will be taken to their native places across the state by the respective district administrations,” Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh, a representative of the Jharkhand government, said.

“All our workers are fit..their detailed examination was done, including blood tests and X-rays were conducted. Their counselling was also done to ascertain their mental health. Based on that, they discharged them…they found all of them quite well,” he added.

Apart from 15 workers from Jharkhand and five from Odisha, eight are from Uttar Pradesh, five from Bihar, three from West Bengal, two each from Uttarakhand and Assam, and one from Himachal Pradesh.