• Source:ANI
Add as a preferred

Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse:  After days of disappointment and despair for the families of the workers trapped in Uttarkashi's collapsed tunnel, finally, a ray of hope emerged in the form of the heavy-duty drilling machine which was brought by IAF's C-130 earlier on Wednesday.

The new drill has bored through 12 metres of the rubble, providing a passage to easily pass 800-900 mm diameter pipe.

Later in the evening, officials said that a six-meter segment of a steel pipe was inserted into the bored passage, with another section in the process of being welded to it. The plan involves inserting 800 mm- and 900 mm-diameter pipes, one after the other, using the massive drill. This will help create an escape passage for the workers stranded beyond the section of the tunnel that has collapsed.

Earlier, the IAF's C-130 Hercules planes were roped in to transport a US-made auger machine, in parts from Delhi to an airport 30 kilometres away from Uttarkashi's Silkyara on Wednesday. The step was taken as smaller drilling machines failed to produce any good results. The 25-tonne equipment was assembled overnight.

Also Read: Air India Pilot, 37, Medically Fit For Flying, Dies By Heart Attack At IGI Airport

Before the renewed attempt at the rescue, a 'puja' was performed outside the Silkyara tunnel on Thursday.

Union Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways V K Singh, who visited the rescue site, has set a timeframe of "two or three days" as the outer limit for the new machine to complete the task. But Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who said Thursday that all tunnel projects in the state will now be reviewed, appeared more optimistic.

"I have been told that the new drilling machine has already penetrated five to seven metres through the debris,” Dhami told reporters earlier in the day in Dehradun.

“We hope it would soon reach the trapped workers, drilling at the rate of five to 10 metres every hour."

At first, when the 30-40 metre portion of the tunnel collapsed on Sunday morning, rescue workers tried excavating the rubble using an earth-moving machine.

Also Read:  Myanmar Crisis: What Is Operation 1027 And How It Has Left India's Northeastern Neighbour In Shambles | Explained

The section containing debris starts 270 meters from the entrance of the tunnel on its Silkyara side. The workers who are trapped are safe, and provisions such as oxygen, medicines, food items, and water are being supplied to them through pipes, as mentioned by G L Nath, the spokesperson for Navayuga Engineering Company. The construction of the tunnel is being undertaken by the company on behalf of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).

Union minister Singh talked to the trapped workers. “The people's morale is high,” he told reporters later, adding that they knew that the government was putting in all efforts to get them out.

He said that both domestic and international experts have been engaged in providing insights for the rescue mission. The minister also apprised that the location where the tunnel is being built has maintained stability for the last 4.5 years. In Dehradun, Chief Minister Dhami said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is continuously reviewing the situation. The Uttarakhand government has opted to assess all tunnels currently under construction in the state, he added.

"We need such tunnels and many of them are being built in the state. We will review wherever they are being constructed," he added.

A six-bed makeshift health facility has been set up and 10 ambulances with doctors also stationed outside the tunnel to provide immediate medical care to the trapped workers on their evacuation, officials said.