Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Rat-hole miners brought in, manual drilling to begin soon

 Efforts to rescue 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi entered the 15th day on Monday. Manual drilling will now start at the tunnel to prepare an escape passage for the trapped workers. Vertical drilling is also being done to make an escape route for the trapped workers.

The operation to rescue 41 workers trapped inside an Uttarakhand tunnel for more than two weeks now has been a story of new challenges at every corner and rescue teams tweaking their plans to meet them.  Over the last 16 days, government officials have been continuously refining their plans and coming up with fresh ideas to get the soldiers out as soon as possible.

Addressing the media, Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, NDMA member said, “The broken blades of the auger machine have been fully retrieved. There were some obstacles while retrieving the broken part, but the damage has been fixed. Now, the manual technique will be employed by tonight with the help of Indian Army engineers, rat miners, and other technicians."

After an American-made auger drill equipment became trapped in the rubble, manual drilling is scheduled to start at the Uttarkashi site today. The drill, which had a rotating blade at the front and resembled a corkscrew, had pierced through more than 46 metres of material. About 14-odd metres of drilling was left when the machine's blade got stuck in the debris and the drill broke down.

With the 25-tonne auger machine breaking down, rescue teams decided to pursue multiple strategies simultaneously. Manual drilling is aimed at completing the task the auger drill started. A team of 11 has been flown in from Delhi for this task. These include six specialists and five more in reserve. 

In addition to multiple government agencies, the Indian Army joined the rescue operation to start drilling the tunnel manually after the advanced auger drilling machine broke down. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department has issued a yellow alert in Uttarkashi, warning of rain, lightning, and possible hailstorms, potentially impacting ongoing rescue operations.