‘Rat Miners’ Are Deployed For Manual Drilling In The Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue; PM Modi Asks Nation To Pray For 41 Trapped Workers

On Monday, the 16th day of the rescue efforts in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, to free the 41 workers buried under the rubble of a collapsed tunnel, began. During the day, the rescue crew started manual drilling, which was one of the plans since the auger machine, which was being used for horizontal drilling, broke down the previous week. Officials supervising the rescue operations claim that Indian Army engineers, “rat miners,” and other technicians are doing the manual drilling procedure.

Additionally, authorities said that a plasma cutter was used to disassemble the broken auger machine, which became lodged in the debris. The fragments of the equipment were then removed from the Silkyara tunnel. The Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the scene and assessed the situation in the meantime. Prime Minister Modi asked the nation to pray for the safety of the trapped laborers while speaking at an event in Hyderabad.

16th Day of the Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue Updates:

– At 9:44 p.m. on Monday, news agency ANI reported that manual drilling at the Silkyara tunnel had been completed to a depth of 1.6 meters and that a pipe had been put in to the same extent.

– According to Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Indian Army soldiers, “rat miners,” and other specialists would be sent to do the manual drilling procedure.

“The method will be used Now, with the assistance of Indian Army engineers, rat miners, and other professionals, the manual approach will be used tonight. They would enter as a party of two, he said, according to an ANI statement.

At the ‘Koti Deepotsavam’ event in Hyderabad, Telangana, on Monday, Prime Minister Modi asked the audience to offer prayers for the safety of the laborers who are stuck within the Silyara tunnel.

He said, “Today when we are praying to Gods and Goddesses and talking about the welfare of humanity, we also have to give place in our prayers to those labourers who are stuck in a tunnel in Uttarakhand for the last two weeks.”

– Dr. PK Mishra, PM Modi’s principal secretary, visited the Uttarkashi scene on Monday and assessed the situation. He spoke with the laborers who were buried under the crumbling tunnel’s rubble. He also spoke with the laborers’ families who were in despair.

– Lt Gen (Retd) Hasnain reported that the damaged auger machine’s broken blades, which were shattered during the process of drilling through the layers of debris last week, were fully recovered in the morning.

“Today morning, the auger machine’s damaged blades that were partially recovered yesterday were recovered in full. The damage has finally been repaired, despite some challenges along the way,” he said.