- By Vivek Raj
- Wed, 15 Nov 2023 11:46 AM (IST)
- Source:ANI
A recent landslide in Uttarakhand has posed fresh challenges to the ongoing efforts to rescue 40 labourers trapped in an under-construction tunnel for over 70 hours. The rescue operation faced setbacks as a landslide on Tuesday night forced officials to dismantle the auger drilling machine and restart the platform preparation.
Rescue teams, comprising over 160 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), had been working to create a passage for the trapped labourers since the tunnel collapsed on Sunday morning.
Officials reported the removal of approximately 21 meters of slab blocking the tunnel, leaving a 19-meter passage yet to be cleared.
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Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela hopes that the trapped labourers could be evacuated today, if the plan proceeds as scheduled.
"If everything goes as planned, the trapped labourers will be evacuated by Wednesday," he said after visiting the accident site on Tuesday evening.
However, the latest visuals from the site showed the dismantling of the drilling machine and platform, indicating a setback in the rescue timeline. Rescue teams are now working to set up a new drilling machine.
The trapped labourers, mostly migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh, are currently safe inside the tunnel. They are being provided with oxygen, water, food packets, and medicines through tubes.
The plan involves using drilling equipment to push through 800- and 900-millimeter diameter sections of mild steel pipes into the rubble, creating an escape passage for the workers. The trapped individuals have a buffer of around 400 meters to move and breathe within the tunnel.
Communication with the workers has been established through Walkie-Talkies, with initial contact made via a note on a scrap of paper.
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A section of the tunnel under construction between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway collapsed on Sunday, following a landslide that led to 40 workers being trapped inside.