Uttarkashi tunnel collapse Day 16: Rescue team to drill 86 metres by 30 Nov to save trapped labourers | 10 updates
- Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Rescue operation for 41 trapped labourers in Silkyara tunnel facing new challenges every day as the workers are in a built-up two-kilometre stretch of the tunnel.
The operation to rescue 41 trapped labourers inside Uttrakashi's Silkyara tunnel may take a little longer time as the rescue teams are facing new challenges every day while digging the tunnel. On 12 November, on the eve of the Diwali festival, a portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route collapsed following a landslide, cutting off the exit for the workers inside. The workers are in a built-up two-kilometre stretch of the tunnel.
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Here's what has happened so far | 10 updates
- National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) Managing Director Mahmood Ahmad on Sunday informed that a total of 19.2 meters of vertical drilling had been completed. "We have to drill around 86 meters to be done within four days that is by November 30. Hopefully, there will be no further hurdles and the work will be completed on time," he added. The vertical boring option was picked as the next best alternative after the latest in a series of snags that hit the horizontal drilling operation from the tunnel’s Silkyara-end, where an estimated 60-metre stretch of rubble faced rescue workers.
Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: Vertical drilling on as rescue bid enters third week
- National Disaster Management Authority also said that 86 meters of vertical drilling are required to reach the crust of the Uttarkashi's tunnel where 41 workers remained trapped.
- As the drilling progresses, 700-mm wide pipes are being inserted to create an escape passage. A little distance away, a thinner, 200-mm probe is being pushed in. It has reached the 70-metre mark.
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Mountain resists machine, alternative methods sought
- Yesterday, a plasma cutter was airlifted from Hyderabad to supplement the gas cutter. By evening, only 8.15 metres of the 47 metres of the auger shaft that had been pushed into the debris remained to be cut and removed.
Uttarkashi: Auger drill stuck, trapped workers likely to remain stuck for weeks
- From Tuesday, rescue workers will start drilling a 180-metre alternative escape tunnel into the side of the hill. This could take 12-14 days. Once the auger is completely extricated, rescuers will adopt another fresh approach -– manual drilling to clear the remaining 10 or 12 metre stretch of rubble. One worker would enter the steel chute laid so far and operate the drill, and another man sends the debris out through a pulley.
- Another drilling is being carried out from the Barkot-end of the tunnel, and the work has progressed about 10 out of 483 metres. This approach could take up to 40 days of drilling.
- A unit of Madras Sappers, an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army has been called in at Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel for manual drilling at the site.
- For manual drilling, the Indian Army along with civilians will do rat boring inside the tunnel. The Indian Army along with civilians will dig out the debris inside the tunnel with weapons like hands, hammers, and chisels and then the pipe will be pushed forward from the platform built inside the pipe.
Uttarkashi: NDRF shows how 41 workers will be evacuated from tunnel | Watch
- The Uttarakhand government is supplying fruits like orange, Apple, Banana etc., along with medicines and salts to the trapped workers. A modified communication system with wire connectivity developed by SDRF is being used for communication regularly.
- Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways V K Singh visited the disaster site again on Sunday. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami met the family of trapped worker Pushkar Singh Eiri at his home in Tanakpur.
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Business NewsNewsIndiaUttarkashi tunnel collapse Day 16: Rescue team to drill 86 metres by 30 Nov to save trapped labourers | 10 updates
First Published:27 Nov 2023, 07:18 AM IST
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