Uttarkashi tunnel collapse | Another hurdle halts rescue work at Silkyara tunnel

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami will stay overnight at the site to monitor the rescue operations which entered the final phase on Wednesday.

Mr. Dhami will stay in Uttarkashi tonight to monitor the rescue operation of people trapped in the Silkyara Tunnel. He has set up his temporary camp office there so that there is no hindrance in his daily work.

”Along with this, it has been decided not to celebrate the Egas festival which is celebrated with great pomp in Uttarakhand today. Today, on the occasion of Egas, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was to participate in this festival along with about a thousand people at the Chief Minister’s residence which he also cancelled,” an official statement said.

ANI

Drilling through the rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel was put on hold again Thursday after the platform on which the equipment is mounted developed some cracks, in yet another setback to the effort to rescue the 41 workers trapped inside.

The rescue workers will “stabilise” the platform on which the 25-tonne auger machine is mounted before drilling is resumed, officials said.

Sections of steel pipes were being inserted through the rubble of the collapsed portion for the workers, trapped for 11 days, to be brought out.

PTI

International expert Arnold Dix on Thursday said the auger machine drilling through the rubble at Uttarkashi tunnel is experiencing ‘some difficulties’ again.

The rescue pipe has so far pushed up to around 47 meters and 10 more meters are needed to be covered to reach the workers.

41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel for the last 11 days are likely to be rescued in the next few hours or by tomorrow, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said on Thursday evening.

The drilling work to pull out 41 trapped workers encountered obstacles, which resulted in a temporary stoppage of rescue efforts.

“I expect that in the next few hours or by tomorrow, we will be successful in this operation,” Mr. Hasnain said in a media briefing.

The NDMA member also said that the horizontal drilling to rescue workers may face 3-4 more hurdles.

PTI

Delhi Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday asserted that the Uttarakhand government should take responsibility for the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse incident that has trapped 41 workers since November 12.

Speaking to ANI on the incident, the Delhi Minister said, “I extend my best wishes to the family members of the trapped workers. The Uttarakhand government should take responsibility for this incident. They should claim responsibility for why an incident this big took place in the first place.”He questioned how the construction project was carried out without any soil testing and standard operating procedures.

ANI

As the multi-rescue operation to provide a safe passage to 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi enters a critical stage, images of an auger drilling machine facing obstruction to save workers surfaced on Thursday afternoon.

Some of the images showing the steel obstructing the free movement of the rescue pipe inside the tunnel and blocking the other side of the under-construction tunnel have been accessed by ANI.

In one of the images, a shadow of a man is apparently seen capturing the moments on his mobile phone.

ANI

Member of the National Disaster Management Authority, Lt General (Rtd) Syed Ata Hasnain on Wednesday said that the rescue operation which is underway at Uttarkashi’s Silkyara tunnel where 41 workers remain trapped is like a “war” and no such specific timelines should be assumed by anyone.

The NDMA Member said that this operation is just like a war situation where one keeps guessing about enemy moves. He further mentioned that in this operation ‘Himalayan geology’ is the enemy.

Addressing a press briefing in New Delhi, Mr. Syed Ata Hasnain said, “Many experts are giving opinions that they might be rescued today evening, tomorrow morning but remember these operations are like a war. These operations should not be given a timeline. In wars, we don’t know how will the enemy react.”

A total of 41 ambulances have been arranged at the spot of Uttarkashi’s Silkyara tunnel where 41 workers remain trapped, an official said.

Mukesh Nautiyal, the Project Manager of Operation 108 Ambulance initiative said that out of 41 ambulances, 31 ambulances are of ‘108’ while the other 10 have been provided by the administration.

“There are 41 ambulances where 31 ambulances are of ‘108’ while the other 10 have been provided by the administration. Out of 31, 7 are ALS, while others are BLS. ALS stands for Advanced Life Support, and BLS is Basic Life Support. 27 ambulances are here, and there are 5 ambulances near the tunnel. All the ambulances are well equipped, it’s like a mini emergency,” Nautiyal told ANI.

ANI

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Once the rescue pipe breaks through the debris at the Silkyara tunnel, NDRF personnel plan to pull out the trapped workers one by one with the help of wheeled stretchers tied to ropes, a senior official said on Thursday.

The NDRF men will go in through the pipe and once they reach the workers, they will use their equipment to start sending them out of the tunnel one by one, Karwal said.

The workers will lie upon low-height, wheeled stretchers and NDRF men will pull them out one after another using ropes, officials said.

PTI

Rescue agencies, which were hopeful of getting the trapped 41 workers in Silkyara free, on Thursday told media at 2 p.m. that only 1.8 metres of drilling could take place in the last 18 hours due to the hurdle that came on the machine’s way, Neeraj Khairwal, nodal officer of Silkyara tunnel rescue (Uttarakhand) said.

The pipe is pushed upto around 47 meters and 10 more meters are needed to be covered to reach to the workers.

Rescue operations to evacuate 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel resumed on Thursday morning after an overnight hurdle delayed the drilling by several hours.

Former Advisor to the Prime Minister’s office Bhaskar Khulbe, who was at the site, said an iron mesh which had come in the path of the drilling machine that is creating an escape path for the workers was removed in the morning.

Mr. Khulbe said the process of welding the pipes to go beyond 45 metres has been restarted. The drilling will also resume soon, he said.

Director General of the National Disaster Response Force, Atul Karwal said that the multi-agency rescue operations to provide a safe passage to 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakashi will be completed by the end of the day.

DG NDRF said while speaking to ANI,” “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 operation will be completed...”

ANI

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra wished for the safety of the 41 labourers trapped in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara tunnel.

In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi said the news is that the ongoing operation to save the workers is moving towards success and there is hope that everyone will come out safely soon.

“We pray to God that all the labourer brothers come out as soon as possible and reach their homes in good health. The prayers of the entire country are with them,” she said.

“The government is requested to provide proper compensation and help to these labourer brothers who are risking their lives day and night to serve the nation,” Priyanka Gandhi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on the phone and sought information about the ongoing rescue operation.

“The Prime Minister was informed about the progress being made in the relief and rescue operations being conducted on a war footing in coordination with the central agencies, international experts and the state administration.

Respected Prime Minister was also informed about ensuring the arrangement of a team of doctors, ambulance, heli service and temporary hospital for the treatment and care of the workers and instructions were given to the doctors at AIIMS Rishikesh to be ready in case of any emergency,” wrote Mr. Dhami on X.

Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela said on Thursday morning that rescuers have drilled and considerably breached through the debris of the collapsed portion of the Sikyara tunnel to reach closer to the trapped workers.

He told ANI that only a little more work is left for the completion of the rescue operation.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Director General Atul Karwal reached the Silkyara Tunnel collapse site on Thursday. The NDRF DG was confident of pushing through the rescue effort at the earliest.

Karwal told media that welding of last pipe of 6 meters length is happening. If all goes well, rescue operation might end today, he added.

“Our teams are ready, and I hope we will be able to rescue the workers soon” he told ANI.

International tunnel expert Arnold Dix said the operation has progressed significantally and it seems they were “knocking at the front door.”

“At the moment, it’s like we are there at the front door and we are knocking on it. We know that the guys are there on the other side,” he told reporters.

-ANI

Uttarkashi tunnel rescuers will take 12 to 14 hours more to complete drilling and reach workers, according to Bhaskar Khulbe, former advisor to PMO.

Officials had earlier said that the rescue workers would be able to break through this morning, but overnight efforts were stalled after the drills encountered unexpected iron rods in the debris.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescuers cut through iron mesh that blocked drilling last night: Bhaskar Khulbe, former advisor to PMO.

-PTI

Some blades of the drilling machine were damaged by a metal object in the debris.

Special cutters have been arranged from New Delhi and Dehradun, the capital of Uttarakhand state, and efforts were being made to remove the metal obstruction to resume drilling, said Kirti Panwar, a state government spokesman.

The drilling machine is being repaired and will be realigned to resume drilling, said Devendra Patwal, a disaster management official.

-AP

Preparations to evacuate the 41 workers trapped in the Silkayara tunnel in Uttarkashi since November 12 are in the final stage, the Uttrakhand Chief Minister’s Office said in a press release.

According to the CMO, preparations to evacuate the workers are in the final stages and the Chief Minister himself is present in Uttarkashi.

-ANI

Maharaj Singh Negi, the brother of one of the trapped workers, said that when the tunnel caved in, they were not informed about it.

Watch the video here.

The last pipe to prepare an escape passage for the trapped workers is being pushed in through the rubble, according to PTI.

The drilling of 800 mm diameter steel pipes through the rubble had hit a minor hurdle late Wednesday when some iron rods came in the way of the auger machine. However, the rods were removed by the Andaman team using a gas cutter.

-Agencies

Rajni Kisku from Bihar’s Banka district could not hold her tears when she, on November 21, was made to speak to her husband Virender Kisku who is one among the 41 workers trapped.

Since the day she landed in Silkyara along with her brother-in-law, she spends the entire day sitting outside the tunnel in hope that her husband will come out of the tunnel in good shape.

Read the story here of families waiting for their loved ones to be rescued.

The platform of ten Central Trade Unions (CTUs) has expressed its anguish at the failure of the authorities to take responsibility for the Silkyara Tunnel collapse in Uttarkashi. In a joint statement here on Wednesday, the CTUs said accidents at work places expose the weaknesses of laws in regard to work place safety of workers and also bring to light the violations of existing laws.

Read the full story here.

The work of laying a 12-meter pipeline is still left at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi to rescue 41 workers, said Colonel Deepak Patil who is leading the rescue efforts of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL).

However, the steel rods in the debris have been removed by the Andaman team through a gas cutter and the obstruction on the way has been eliminated, he said.

“The front part of the last pipe was damaged; the work of cutting it is going on. We have to join two joints, it will take 6 hours. Currently, only a 44-meter pipeline is being laid officially,” he added.

-ANI