Rescue operations of 40 workers stuck in the partially collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi have been suspended since Friday, when a US-made auger machine deployed to drill and push in pipes developed a snag.
The under-construction tunnel on the Yamunotri National Highway collapsed at dawn on Sunday, trapping 40 workers inside. The tunnel is central government project being constructed under the National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).
Another high-performance drilling machine airlifted from Indore in Madhya Pradesh has already landed at the Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun and is being transported by road to Silkyara where it will be unloaded and assembled before being deployed for drilling, officials on the spot said, reports PTI.
Anshu Malik Halko, director at state-run NHIDC was quoted as saying by Reuters, “We will first bring out the defunct machine from inside and then deploy the new one. This will take time and I cannot comment on the timeline. It’s a delicate and risky operation.”
By the time the operation was halted on Friday afternoon, the heavy-duty auger machine had drilled up to 24 metres through the rubble spread over a 60-metre area inside the tunnel.
Around 2.45 PM on Friday, during the positioning of the fifth pipe, a “loud-scale cracking sound” was heard in the tunnel after which the rescue operation was suspended, a statement issued by the NHIDCL late on Friday night said.
The sound created panic among the rescue team. An expert involved with the project warned about the possibility of further collapse in the vicinity. Subsequently, the pipe-pushing activity was stopped.
PMO Deputy Secretary Mangesh Ghildiyal has arrived at Silkyara for an on-the-spot review of the rescue operations.
Meanwhile, on Friday, an Indian Air Force C-17 transport aircraft was dispatched to airlift approximately 22 tonnes of essential equipment from Indore to Dehradun.