Uttarkashi tunnel collapse LIVE: Vertical drilling underway, rescuers make 8-metre progress in one and half hours

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: According to an official statement, "BRO has completed the construction of an approach road for vertical drilling by SJVNL and RVNL. BRO is also building an approach road for ONGC with geological surveys conducted by ONGC. 1050 meters of approach road has been constructed so far out of 5000 meters. " 

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Tehri Hydro Development Corporation is working on a project to construct rescue tunnel from the Barkot end with the most recent fifth blast that took place on 2:25 am on November 26.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand government' official statement on Sunday informed that freshly cooked food and fresh fruits are being inserted inside the tunnel at regular intervals using the 2nd lifeline (pipe). The statement further reads, “Sufficient fruits like orange, Apple, Banana etc., along with medicines and salts has also been supplied in this lifeline in regular interval. Additional Dry Food is also being supplied for future stock. A modified communication system with wire connectivity developed by SDRF is being used for communication regularly. People inside have reported that they are safe.” 

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: NHIDCL MD Ahmad on Sunday said, "We have completed around 19.2 meters of drilling. 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," reported ANI.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: NDMA Member Syed Ata Hasnain said, "Our plan 3 (Perpendicular, covering 170 metres) has still not been adopted. The machine for sideways drilling is expected to reach the Silkayra tunnel rescue site during the night." 

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: NDMA Member Syed Ata Hasnain, on Sunday, said," Our Plan 2 has been currently adopted. The drilling machine reached yesterday. Vertical drilling started at around 12 noon today and 86 meters of vertical digging is required to reach trapped workers.17 metres of drilling has already taken place. We have done geological studies and studies are suggesting that there might be no obstruction. We are checking the stability," while addressing a press briefing in Delhi, reported ANI.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand Congress leader Yashpal Arya on Sunday slammed Uttarakhand-led government and said, "The way these forty workers have been trapped in Silkyara, is the government's indolence and negligence. The government has committed corruption to give work to their favourite...An escape tunnel should have been built but it was ignored." 

The National Disaster Management Authority on Sunday said that work is on to retrieve broken parts of the auger machine and start manual digging while vertical drilling has also started to bring out 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi for the last 14 days.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain told reporters here that all efforts are going on to rescue the workers.

Considered as the second best option, the work on vertical drilling started around noon and 15 meters of drilling has already been completed, Hasnain said.

After 86 meters of vertical drilling, the crust of the tunnel will have to be broken to bring out the trapped workers, he added.

The member also mentioned that as many as six plans are being executed to rescue the workers but the best option so far is horizontal drilling under which 47 meters of drilling have been completed.

A plasma cutter machine flown from Hyderabad to cut the auger machine that got stuck in the debris of the Silkyara tunnel to rescue 41 workers started working on Sunday morning, officials said.

The plasma cutter machine was brought to the Silkyara tunnel early in the morning.

The process of removing the auger machine was underway even before the new machine arrived at the site.

With vertical drilling underway to further aid the rescue of the trapped workers in Silkyara tunnel, the rescuers managed to make progress over a distance of 8 metres down the ground in the last one and a half hours.

According to ANI, drilling of up to 8 metres has been completed in the last one and a half years, and currently, the work to lay a 900-mm pipeline is being undertaken.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who visited Tanakpur on Sunday, said, "The Tanakpur bus stand will be constructed according to international standards. The first phase involves an investment of ₹56 crore. Tanakpur attracts visitors from across the country. After Haridwar, Tanakpur is the second-highest place that attracts tourists in Uttarakhand. In the second phase, we will build a shopping complex, parking, and entertainment facilities. This bus stand should serve as a role model for our state." 

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Father of one of the 41 trapped workers inside Silkyara tunnel said, "I don't want my son to work further in the tunnel", reported ANI. The family resides in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri and the 50-year-old father of the worker suffers from vision loss in one of his eyes.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Two locations above the Silkyara side of collapsed tunnel have been identified for vertical drilling.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix said, "It may have been an unusual situation occurring here where the class of rock changes. It has to be investigated. The area that collapsed hasn't collapsed before; it wasn't even given any clue that it was going to collapse before. So, it is a part of the challenge for us--what is it about the ground here, this mountain that caught us on the backfoot." 

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: SJVN began work on second best alternative approach of vertical drilling  on Sunday involving drilling from the hill at the top of the tunnel. 

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "The plasma machine that has been brought from Hyderabad has started working since this morning. The cutting is going on rapidly. 14 metres more remain (to be cut)." 

He added, "The auger machine has to be cut and brought out. It seems that it will be completed soon, within a few more hours. After that, manual drilling will begin," reported ANI.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Micro-tunnelling expert, Chris Cooper on Sunday said, “We do not know,” how much time it will take to remove the stuck auger blades and the machine from the rubble. He added, "Sometimes we get smaller pieces out. Sometimes we get bigger pieces out."

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix said, "As you know, the auger machine failed, and we are having a lot of technical difficulties in getting the auger out of the pipe. (However), that's going much faster this morning as plasma cutters have come. Brave men are going in there in a pipe with plasma cutters and cutting it piece by piece. The progress is faster this morning." 

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: An ONGC official informed ANI that a Magna Rod cutter machine has been brought in to speed up the rescue operation of 41 trapped workers at Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi. The machine was airlifted from Andhra Pradesh's Rajahmundry Airport to Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun Saturday midnight at 2 am by a charter flight of a private company.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami arrived at the house of Tanakpur worker Pushkar Singh Airi to meet his family.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: A plasma cutter machine was airlifted from Hyderabad to cut the broken blades of auger machine. However, the process of removing stuck blades of auger machine was underway even before the new machine arrived at Silkyara tunnel site.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: A senior official said, "We are also considering providing a cricket bat and ball to the workers so that they can play cricket. You can spend your time playing because there is a lot of space inside the tunnel where the workers are trapped, so cricket can be played easily."

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Micro tunnelling expert, Chris Cooper said, "Plasma machine - we are still cutting the auger. It is about 16 metres more of auger to cut...It (plasma machine) is beneficial as it will cut the steel faster...The plasma machine cuts the steel much faster."

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Jharkhand Chief Minister, Hemant Soren last week expressed concern over the delay in evacuation of workers from the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. He also said that the state will bear all the medical expenses and air lift all of its 15 workers once they are rescued. 

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Communist Party of India MP Binoy Viswam wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expessing concern over development activities in hilly terrain. "The concerning developments from the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand have worried the entire country. The incident of the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel and 41 workers being trapped inside have shaken the nation. It's been two weeks since the workers are trapped inside and reports suggest that it may take a few more days to complete the rescue operation," the letter stated.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Vertical drilling as an alternative approach has been sought, after auger machine's blades broke during horizontal drilling operation. A new drilling machine was brought to Silkyara site on November 26 which aims to drill 103 meters downward to rescue trapped workers.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Indian Air Force in a social media post on X wrote, "Responding with alacrity to the requirements of the ongoing rescue operation, late last evening the IAF flew in critical DRDO equipment to Dehradun."

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Ongoing rescue operation at Silkyara tunnel site where 41 workers are trapped with preparation of protection umbrella underway.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ,on Saturday, informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been religiously taking daily updates about the rescue operation at Silkyara tunnel site where 41 labourers are trapped.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: On Saturday, when International tunnelling expert, Arnold Dix found out that the auger machine's blades had got stuck, he stressed on his promise of getting the trapped workers out “by Christmas." 

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Around 47-metre of the 60 metre stretch of the rescue passage has been already bored and further rescue operation would involve manual drilling under which individual workers will drill for a short period in the confined space in turns.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Retired National Disaster Management Authority Member, Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain on Saturday informed “This operation could take a long time.” He further added that vertical drilling would most likely begin in  “next 24 to 36” hours as it was quicker of the 2 alternative approaches.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: On November 25, thirteenth day, officials shifted their rescue mission to two alternatives techniques when auger machine blades broke while drilling. The alternative approach involves manual drilling through the remaining 10 or 12-metre stretch of the 60 metre stretch that has already been drilled. Rubble drilling from above was also considered that involves drilling 86 metres down .

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Mobile phones were sent to stranded workers through a 6-inch pipe for them to get involved and play video games, informed senior official involved in the rescue operation. He further added, "There is no mobile network nearby but we are also considering providing Wi-Fi connectivity. We are also considering providing a cricket bat and ball to the workers so that they can play cricket. You can spend your time playing because there is a lot of space inside the tunnel where the workers are trapped, so cricket can be played easily."

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) came up with the initiative to provide the trapped workers with a landline through which they could have a talk with their families. A BSNL official Kundan informed that process of sending a small landline phone to the stranded workers through the pipe is underway. He said, “Through this, they will be able to talk directly to their families.”

“It's our duty to protect our workforce from any seen or unforeseen uncertainty in such a situation. Therefore, I urge you to take immediate steps and impress upon all stakeholders and employers to mandatorily ensure generous insurance amounts to workers in hazardous and dangerous surroundings,” Communist Party of India MP Binoy Viswam said in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ANI reported.

The blades of the auger machine drilling through the rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel were still stuck, officials were reported as saying by news agency PTI. The rescue team will switch to other options to proceed with the operation to safely evacuate the trapped workers. However, the alternative methods are expected to delay their rescue by several days.

"We have set up a telephone exchange. We will give them a phone connected with the line via the pipe being used for sending food. This phone will have incoming and outgoing facilities. They can talk to their family," DGM, BSNL, Rakesh Chaudhary told PTI.

Rescue operations at the Silkyara tunnel will take time, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said, adding that their focus is now on vertical drilling. According to the NDMA, 86 meters of vertical drilling needed to reach Silkyara tunnel's crust.

The National Disaster Management Authority said 47-meter drilling done so far, and efforts are underway to retrieve broken part of the auger machine.

A plasma cutter is being flown in from Hyderabad to cut the auger machine, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told ANI. "Everyone knows that this rescue operation is being done under difficult and challenging circumstances. The machine got stuck after reaching so close...We are expecting that by tomorrow morning this machine will come out, and after that, the operation will move forward manually," the chief minister added.

“We are looking at multiple options, but with each option, we are considering how do we make sure that 41 men come home safe and we don't hurt anyone...The mountain has again resisted the auger, so we are rethinking our approach...I am confident that the 41 men are coming home by Christmas...I have always promised that the workers will be home by Christmas,” said Arnold Dix, an international tunneling expert who is involved in the rescue operations.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while commenting on the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation, said the auger machine's blades are stuck inside the rubble, and that a plasma cutter would be needed.

Delhi minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, while commenting on the Uttarkashi tunnel incident, told ANI, “Three days ago, I expressed a doubt that were standard operating procedures followed in this (Uttarkashi Tunnel). Now that I am seeing the news in newspapers, that fear has turned out to be true. To bypass environmental clearance, the project of building hundreds of metres of roads was divided into 53 small parts. Then it was passed so that there is no requirement for environmental clearance... This work is done by the central and Uttarakhand governments.”

Uttarkashi tunnel collapse LIVE news updates: Efforts to rescue 41 workers trapped in a highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas for two weeks will be further slowed as rescuers are considering drilling through the last 10 meters of debris manually, an official said on Saturday.

The heavy drill machine being used to break through the nearly 60 meters of debris was damaged on Friday and needs to be pulled out entirely, according to an official statement. (Reuters)