As the trapped workers complete two weeks stuck inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, rescuers are switching to different options to reach them. As per the NDMA, vertical drilling started at 12 noon today and been completed for 15 meters. The rescuers need to dig a total of 86 meters to reach the 41 workers.
Also read: Uttarkashi tunnel collapse updates - November 27
“This operation could take a long time,” National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said at his media briefing. At the disaster site, international tunnelling expert Arnold Dix repeated his promise of getting the workers out “by Christmas”, which is a month away.
Multiple agencies are working on the rescue efforts. In the latest, the Indian Air Force has also joined in as it flew critical DRDO equipment to Dehradun. After a portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12, the debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel trapped 41 labourers inside the under-construction structure.
Watch: Uttarkashi tunnel collapse | | First visuals of trapped workers emerge
(With inputs from agencies)
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