Uttarkashi tunnel collapse Day 17: Rat-hole mining experts begin manual drilling | 10 updates
- Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Rescue operation to save 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand enters 17th day; experts using different methods including vertical and horizontal drilling.
The rescue operation to save 41 workers, trapped inside Uttrakashi's Silkyara tunnel, has entered day 17 on Tuesday. Experts are opting for different methods to rescue the labourers who have been trapped inside the tunnel since 12 November following a landslide of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route. From the NDMA to Indian Army to BSF, the Uttarakhand government has called scientists and other experts in a bid to save the lives of the trapped labourers in Uttarkashi.
Here are 10 updates on the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse:
- Vertical drilling from above the tunnel has reached a depth of 36 metres out of the 86 metres needed. Rescuers hope to pull out workers through this one-metre-wide shaft when it breaks through the top of the tunnel below, hopefully by Thursday.
- For the horizontal through-the-rubble option, officials decided that the final stretch would be handled through a manual approach in which individual workers will go into the escape passage with drills, as well as gas-cutters to tackle obstacles like iron girders.
- Another eight-inch wide shaft being drilled from a nearby point has reached about 75 metres down.
- Vertical and manual horizontal drilling are the two methods on which rescue efforts are being focused at the moment. Work on the other options, such as horizontal drilling from the Barkot end of the tunnel is also underway.
- The vertical drilling, however, encountered some water underground, and “dewatering” was carried out. However, t it didn’t seriously affect the operation.
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Manual excavation soon, vertical drilling continues
- Two teams of seven and five men who are experts in the technique of rat-hole mining were called in by two private companies involved in the rescue operation. Rat-hole mining is a controversial and hazardous procedure in which miners in small groups go down narrow burrows to excavate small quantities of coal. They are likely to be divided into teams of two or three. Each team will go into the steel chute laid into the escape passage for brief periods.
Uttarkashi: Breakthrough expected in ‘horizontal drilling’ rescue effort
- Officers of various agencies such as NHIDCL, RVNL, SJVNL, ONGC, THDC, CIMFR, BRO, GSI, international experts, and several private agencies are part of this rescue operation.
- The NDMA member said a yellow alert has been issued by the meteorological department indicating light rains in the next 24 to 48 hours.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi while attending the 'Koti Deepotsavam' programme at NTR stadium in Hyderabad said that "we should remember the men, trapped in the Uttarakhand tunnel, in our prayers for their speedy evacuation." The Prime Minister said that nature is constantly throwing challenges towards the rescue operation, underway to bring the trapped men out.
Adani Group issues clarification as some link it to Uttarkashi tunnel collapse
- The Adani Group has issued a clarification that it has no involvement in the construction of the Uttarakhand tunnel. The company stated that it strongly condemns the attempts to link it to the incident. Adani Group or any of its subsidiaries have no direct or indirect involvement in the construction of the Uttarkashi tunnel.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaUttarkashi tunnel collapse Day 17: Rat-hole mining experts begin manual drilling | 10 updates
First Published:28 Nov 2023, 06:37 AM IST
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