Amid the ongoing efforts to rescue the 41 trapped workers in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Saturday that a plasma cutter is being flown in from Hyderabad to cut the auger machine that has gotten stuck in the debris of the Silkyara tunnel. He said that the auger machine involved in drilling through the debris is expected to be pulled out until tomorrow morning, after which manual drilling will begin.
CM Dhami, who visited the site of the tunnel, described the conditions as "very difficult and challenging" and the way the machine that was drilling through the debris and placing pipes for the trapped workers to climb out got stuck after reaching a certain point.
"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 minster said as quoted by news agency ANI.
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The Chief Minister also said that the rescue team is working on all the options. The heavy-duty US-made auger machine got stuck after reaching a certain point due to some metal object getting stuck inside it, and the drilling operations had to be suspended on Friday evening.
Dhami informed that he spoke to the construction workers who were trapped inside the tunnel, and their morale was high. "I have just spoken to the people inside, Gabbar Singh, Sabha Ahmed, and Sharia Mishra. The morale of all of them are absolutely strong. They told me that they were doing fine and were getting food on time. They asked me to take our time and safely take them out from the tunnel," Dhami said.
A 12-member team of the Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) is in standby mode to do vertical drilling on the tunnel. The final decision on the drilling option is likely to be taken by the SJVN and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
Member of the National Disaster Management Authority, Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.) said that whatever methods being used now, there need sto have some patience as the operation is difficult. " Two methods are being used currently, but a third method that is draft method may also be used soon. Currently, the situation is that the 47-meter digging has been done, we have to keep it stable and remove the broken part of the Auger machine...I feel in the next 1-2 days the drilling will again start. This operation may go longer and we need to boost the morale of the labourers and the family members...," he added.
He also informed that all the labourers trapped are safe and stable, and added that the basics are being sent.
Earlier, the officials said that the manual rilling will begin soon to cut through the rubble that separates rescuers from the 41 trapped workers.
After a portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12, the debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel trapped 41 labourers inside. The workers are trapped in a 2 km-built portion, which is complete, including concrete work, which provides them safety.
(With input from agencies)