Workers stranded in the Silkyara tunnel will need some time to be rescued: NDMA
The emphasis is now on vertical drilling to free the 41 trapped workers, but the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Saturday that rescue efforts at the Silkyara tunnel may take some time due to the auger machine’s ongoing problems.
NDMA member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain informed the media about the status of the rescue efforts, stating that “it will take time” to free the trapped workers since every step must be taken with extreme caution.
The member said that the emphasis is now on vertical drilling and that activities might begin in the “next 24 to 36 hours” while equipment is being positioned on a platform above the tunnel.
According to him, it will take around 86 meters of vertical drilling to reach the tunnel’s crust, following which it will be smashed to release the imprisoned laborers.
On November 12, a section of the tunnel under construction on the Char Dham route in Uttarakhand collapsed due to a landslide, trapping workers within. This sparked a multi-agency rescue attempt.
The NDMA member went on to say that a very challenging operation is underway. There are now two ways in use, but a third—the drift method—might be added in the near future.
He said that the 47 meters of horizontal drilling had been finished so far. He also mentioned that the auger machine’s damaged portion needed to be removed and the drilled structure needed to be stabilized.
Friday night saw the restart of the tunnel rescue operation at the collapsed section, when the auger drilling equipment that was boring through the debris encountered an obstacle that seemed to be a metal item.
According to Pushkar Singh Dhami, the chief minister of Uttarakhand, the auger machine’s blades became lodged in the debris on Saturday.
According to international tunneling specialist Arnold Dix, the auger equipment has broken down, and rescuers are thinking about using manual and vertical drilling as well as other means to free the imprisoned personnel.
