Rescue operation to get out 41 workers trapped in Uttarkashi’s Silkyara tunnel will be completed by the end of the day, Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Atul Karwal said on Thursday.
“The auger machine has started operating again. We are estimating to send 2-3 pipes of 6 metres inside. Hopefully, by the end of the day, if we do not encounter any obstacles, the rescue operations will be completed,” he told ANI.
The trapped workers are confined within a 2 KM section, encompassing concrete work for their safety. Rescue efforts involve drilling through debris to install wide pipes, enabling the trapped workers to exit.
The auger machine, capable of drilling through 3 metres of debris per hour, faced a temporary setback when it faced a metal obstruction.
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“Our teams are ready, and I hope we will be able to rescue the workers soon,” DG Atul Karwal said earlier in the day.
“NDRF is ready for all the consequences that we may have to face. Special equipment is also ready so that we can take the trapped workers out as early as possible. Our teams are ready, and I hope we will be able to rescue the workers soon,” he added.
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Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela told ANI that rescuers have breached through the debris, with only a minor amount of work remaining to conclude the 12-day-long rescue operation.
Utilising a US auger machine, drilling resumed on Tuesday and, by late Wednesday night, had covered 45 metres of the 60-metre debris-strewn stretch obstructing the Silkyara side of the under-construction tunnel from Silkyara to Barkot.
The state government official said that the rescue operation is in its final stage, with expectations of successfully extracting the trapped workers today.
The incident, which occurred on November 12, involved a collapse in the under-construction tunnel, trapping 41 labourers in the 60-metre debris-laden stretch on the Silkyara side.
