In a persistent attempt to rescue 41 workers trapped for the past 14 days in Uttarakashi’s Silkyara tunnel, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has intensified its efforts. The current focus involves retrieving broken parts of the auger machine and initiating vertical drilling to facilitate the extraction process.
NDMA Member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain provided updates during a press briefing on Sunday. Vertical drilling commenced after 86 meters, with the intention of breaking the tunnel’s crust to reach the trapped workers. He highlighted that six different plans are simultaneously being executed, with horizontal drilling deemed the most effective, having completed 47 meters.
Parallel to these operations, machines for perpendicular drilling are anticipated to arrive at the site during the night. The retrieval of broken auger machine parts is also underway, utilizing magna and plasma cutters. Once the parts are recovered, a manual digging process, expected to take time, will be initiated.
On the 14th day of the rescue mission, the teams are exploring alternative strategies, such as manual drilling and vertical drilling from above. This shift in approach was necessitated after the auger machine faced complications in the collapsed tunnel, endangering the rescue operation.
The operation initially began on November 12, triggered by a landslide that left workers trapped inside the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand’s Char Dham route. A unit of Madras Sappers, an engineer group from the Indian Army’s Corps of Engineers, has been deployed to assist in the rescue operations.
