Uttarakhand tunnel rescue operation latest update: The American auger machine drilling a 900 mm hope through collapsed debris of Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi to rescue 41 trapped workers has broken and a part of it stuck inside the escape pipe. This was the biggest set back so far and it has prompted authorities to take a more time-taking but safer option of manual drilling.
Some 47 meters of the roughly 60 meters of drilling has already been covered by the machine and the remaining work will now be done manually.
This is a safer option but it could also be very time taking. The process will involve workers entering the already bored rescue passage and drill manually.
This ain’t as easy as it sounds given the limited space the workers will get to drill. Arnold Dix, the international tunneling expert assisting with the rescue operation said that the trapped workers will be extracted by Christmas, which is a month away.
“The drilling, augering has stopped. It’s too much for the auger. It’s not going to do anything more. The mountain has again resisted the auger, so we are rethinking our approach,” he said, adding the workers remained safe.
Yesterday, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami informed the press that the part of auger machine has stuck inside the pipe and once it is pulled out the rescue work will resume with manual drilling.
The option of vertical drilling is also being considered and a platform is being constructed atop the hill. Heavy vertical drilling equipment has been brought to Silkyara tunnel site. It will be moved up a one-and-a half-kilometre hill road constructed by the Border Road Organisation (BRO) in the past few days.