Experts from both domestic and foreign fields are supporting the rescue efforts, which started on November 12 following the collapse of a section of the tunnel under construction on the Char Dham path. The Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, has been the scene of rescue attempts for the past 15 days, involving 41 workers who are still trapped.
Experts from both domestic and foreign fields are supporting the rescue efforts, which started on November 12 when a section of the tunnel under construction on the Char Dham route collapsed due to a landslip.
The pieces of the auger machine that were trapped during the horizontal drilling within the tunnel are presently being retrieved.
The DRDO sent someone in from Hyderabad today to remove and use a plasma cutter to cut sections of the auger machine. Gas cutters were then utilized when the plasma cutter’s cutting of the auger had to be halted due to operational issues at the location.
Wednesday saw the commencement of the auger drilling, but it was stopped when a metallic object—a lattice girder rib—was found in front of the pipe. Officials have been compelled to think about going with alternate solutions, which might cause the rescue mission to be delayed by a few days.
According to National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, reporters have been informed that vertical drilling, which is regarded as the second-best option, has also commenced. He stated that around 15 meters of vertical drilling had already been done since the job began at lunchtime.
Mr. Hasnain continued, “To free the trapped workers, the tunnel crust will need to be broken after 86 meters of vertical drilling.”
Additionally, he stated that six options are being implemented in an attempt to free the trapped personnel, with horizontal drilling now being the greatest option 47 meters of drilling have been done under this strategy.
The built-up section of the tunnel, measuring around 8.5 meters in height and 2 km in length, is the region where the workers have been trapped. Meanwhile, the workers are safe and are regularly given cooked food and fresh fruits through a connection.
