Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: The rescue operation has again stopped at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand\’s Uttarkashi district where 41 workers have been trapped for two weeks. The rescue team who were trying to reach the trapped workers inside the collapsed tunnel stopped drilling on Friday again after their boring machine hit a new metal obstruction in rock debris. So far the rescuers have drilled through 46 meters (151 feet) and needed to excavate up to 12 meters (40 feet) more to create a passageway. Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government is supplying hot meals made of rice and lentils through a 6-inch (15-centimeter) pipe to the trapped workers. Besides oxygen is also being supplied through a separate pipe.
Most of the trapped workers are migrant laborers from across the country. Many of their families have traveled to the accident site, where they have camped out for days to get updates on the rescue effort and in hopes of seeing their relatives soon.
Catch the latest updates on Uttarkashi tunnel\’s rescue work here:
Vertical drilling, horizontals drilling, NDMA puts in place 6 plans to rescue workers
The National Disaster Management Authority on Sunday said that work is on to retrieve broken parts of the auger machine and start manual digging while vertical drilling has also started to bring out 41 workers trapped in Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi for the last 14 days.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain told reporters here that all efforts are going on to rescue the workers.
Considered as the second best option, the work on vertical drilling started around noon and 15 meters of drilling has already been completed, Hasnain said.
After 86 meters of vertical drilling, the crust of the tunnel will have to be broken to bring out the trapped workers, he added.
The member also mentioned that as many as six plans are being executed to rescue the workers but the best option so far is horizontal drilling under which 47 meters of drilling have been completed.
Plasma cutter flown from Hyderabad to cut auger machine
A plasma cutter machine flown from Hyderabad to cut the auger machine that got stuck in the debris of the Silkyara tunnel to rescue 41 workers started working on Sunday morning, officials said.
The plasma cutter machine was brought to the Silkyara tunnel early in the morning.
The process of removing the auger machine was underway even before the new machine arrived at the site.
Rescuers make 8-metre progress through vertical drilling in last one and half hours
With vertical drilling underway to further aid the rescue of the trapped workers in Silkyara tunnel, the rescuers managed to make progress over a distance of 8 metres down the ground in the last one and a half hours.
According to ANI, drilling of up to 8 metres has been completed in the last one and a half years, and currently, the work to lay a 900-mm pipeline is being undertaken.
‘Tanakpur bus stand will be constructed according to international standards,’ says Uttarakhand CM
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who visited Tanakpur on Sunday, said, \”The Tanakpur bus stand will be constructed according to international standards. The first phase involves an investment of ₹56 crore. Tanakpur attracts visitors from across the country. After Haridwar, Tanakpur is the second-highest place that attracts tourists in Uttarakhand. In the second phase, we will build a shopping complex, parking, and entertainment facilities. This bus stand should serve as a role model for our state.\”
\’I don\’t want my son to work further in the tunnel,\’ says grieving father of trapped worker
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Father of one of the 41 trapped workers inside Silkyara tunnel said, \”I don\’t want my son to work further in the tunnel\”, reported ANI. The family resides in Uttar Pradesh\’s Lakhimpur Kheri and the 50-year-old father of the worker suffers from vision loss in one of his eyes.
Rescue workers identify two locations above Silkyara side of collapsed tunnel for vertical drilling
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Two locations above the Silkyara side of collapsed tunnel have been identified for vertical drilling.
Tunnelling expert calls Silkyara tunnel collapse an ‘unusual situation,’ says ‘this mountain that caught us on the backfoot’
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix said, \”It may have been an unusual situation occurring here where the class of rock changes. It has to be investigated. The area that collapsed hasn\’t collapsed before; it wasn\’t even given any clue that it was going to collapse before. So, it is a part of the challenge for us–what is it about the ground here, this mountain that caught us on the backfoot.\”
SJVN begins work on second best alternative approach of vertical drilling
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: SJVN began work on second best alternative approach of vertical drilling on Sunday involving drilling from the hill at the top of the tunnel.
‘Manual drilling will begin’ once auger machine is cut, informs Uttarakhand CM
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, \”The plasma machine that has been brought from Hyderabad has started working since this morning. The cutting is going on rapidly. 14 metres more remain (to be cut).\”
He added, \”The auger machine has to be cut and brought out. It seems that it will be completed soon, within a few more hours. After that, manual drilling will begin,\” reported ANI.
‘We do not know,’ how much time it will take to remove the stuck auger blades says micro-tunnelling expert
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Micro-tunnelling expert, Chris Cooper on Sunday said, “We do not know,\” how much time it will take to remove the stuck auger blades and the machine from the rubble. He added, \”Sometimes we get smaller pieces out. Sometimes we get bigger pieces out.\”
‘Men are going in.. with plasma cutters, cutting auger blades piece by piece,’ says International tunnelling expert
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix said, \”As you know, the auger machine failed, and we are having a lot of technical difficulties in getting the auger out of the pipe. (However), that\’s going much faster this morning as plasma cutters have come. Brave men are going in there in a pipe with plasma cutters and cutting it piece by piece. The progress is faster this morning.\”
Magna Rod cutter airlifted from Andhra Pradesh\’s Rajahmundry arrives at Silkyara tunnel site
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: An ONGC official informed ANI that a Magna Rod cutter machine has been brought in to speed up the rescue operation of 41 trapped workers at Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi. The machine was airlifted from Andhra Pradesh\’s Rajahmundry Airport to Jolly Grant Airport in Dehradun Saturday midnight at 2 am by a charter flight of a private company.
Uttarakhand CM meets family of trapped worker
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami arrived at the house of Tanakpur worker Pushkar Singh Airi to meet his family.
Plasma cutter machine airlifted from Hyderabad arrives at Silkyara tunnel site
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: A plasma cutter machine was airlifted from Hyderabad to cut the broken blades of auger machine. However, the process of removing stuck blades of auger machine was underway even before the new machine arrived at Silkyara tunnel site.
‘Considering providing a cricket bat and ball to the workers’ for them to play cricket, says official
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: A senior official said, \”We are also considering providing a cricket bat and ball to the workers so that they can play cricket. You can spend your time playing because there is a lot of space inside the tunnel where the workers are trapped, so cricket can be played easily.\”
Plasma machine cutting the steel of auger drill informs, Micro tunnelling expert
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Micro tunnelling expert, Chris Cooper said, \”Plasma machine – we are still cutting the auger. It is about 16 metres more of auger to cut…It (plasma machine) is beneficial as it will cut the steel faster…The plasma machine cuts the steel much faster.\”
Jharkhand will air lift all of its 15 workers once they are rescued
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Jharkhand Chief Minister, Hemant Soren last week expressed concern over the delay in evacuation of workers from the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. He also said that the state will bear all the medical expenses and air lift all of its 15 workers once they are rescued.
Development activities in Himalayan ecosystem should be undertaken carefully says CPI MP to PM Modi
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Communist Party of India MP Binoy Viswam wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expessing concern over development activities in hilly terrain. \”The concerning developments from the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand have worried the entire country. The incident of the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel and 41 workers being trapped inside have shaken the nation. It\’s been two weeks since the workers are trapped inside and reports suggest that it may take a few more days to complete the rescue operation,\” the letter stated.
Watch| Visuals from Silkyara Tunnel site where 41 workers are trapped
New drilling machine arrives at Silkyara tannel site, to drill 103 meters downward
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Vertical drilling as an alternative approach has been sought, after auger machine\’s blades broke during horizontal drilling operation. A new drilling machine was brought to Silkyara site on November 26 which aims to drill 103 meters downward to rescue trapped workers.
Indian Air Force brings in critical DRDO equipment to Dehradun for rescue operation
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Indian Air Force in a social media post on X wrote, \”Responding with alacrity to the requirements of the ongoing rescue operation, late last evening the IAF flew in critical DRDO equipment to Dehradun.\”
Watch| Rescue mission of 41 trapped workers resumes at Silkyara tunnel site
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Ongoing rescue operation at Silkyara tunnel site where 41 workers are trapped with preparation of protection umbrella underway.
Watch| Early morning visuals from Silkyara tunnel site
PM Modi takes daily updates on rescue operation says Uttarakhand CM
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ,on Saturday, informed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been religiously taking daily updates about the rescue operation at Silkyara tunnel site where 41 labourers are trapped.
Trapped workers will be out ‘by Christmas,’ says International tunnelling expert
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: On Saturday, when International tunnelling expert, Arnold Dix found out that the auger machine\’s blades had got stuck, he stressed on his promise of getting the trapped workers out “by Christmas.\”
Rescue workers to undertake manual drilling in turns
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Around 47-metre of the 60 metre stretch of the rescue passage has been already bored and further rescue operation would involve manual drilling under which individual workers will drill for a short period in the confined space in turns.
Vertical drilling most likely to begin today
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Retired National Disaster Management Authority Member, Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain on Saturday informed “This operation could take a long time.\” He further added that vertical drilling would most likely begin in “next 24 to 36\” hours as it was quicker of the 2 alternative approaches.
Alternative approaches to reach workers being considered after blades of auger machine broke
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: On November 25, thirteenth day, officials shifted their rescue mission to two alternatives techniques when auger machine blades broke while drilling. The alternative approach involves manual drilling through the remaining 10 or 12-metre stretch of the 60 metre stretch that has already been drilled. Rubble drilling from above was also considered that involves drilling 86 metres down .
Mobile phones supplied to workers to play games
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Mobile phones were sent to stranded workers through a 6-inch pipe for them to get involved and play video games, informed senior official involved in the rescue operation. He further added, \”There is no mobile network nearby but we are also considering providing Wi-Fi connectivity. We are also considering providing a cricket bat and ball to the workers so that they can play cricket. You can spend your time playing because there is a lot of space inside the tunnel where the workers are trapped, so cricket can be played easily.\”
Rescue team prepares protection umbrella inside Silkyara tunnel
Uttarkashi tunnel rescue LIVE: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) came up with the initiative to provide the trapped workers with a landline through which they could have a talk with their families. A BSNL official Kundan informed that process of sending a small landline phone to the stranded workers through the pipe is underway. He said, “Through this, they will be able to talk directly to their families.\”
Duty to protect our workforce from any seen or unforeseen uncertainty: CPM MP in letter to PM Modi
“It\’s our duty to protect our workforce from any seen or unforeseen uncertainty in such a situation. Therefore, I urge you to take immediate steps and impress upon all stakeholders and employers to mandatorily ensure generous insurance amounts to workers in hazardous and dangerous surroundings,\” Communist Party of India MP Binoy Viswam said in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ANI reported.
Auger drill stuck in Silkyara rubble, no quick exit in sight now for trapped workers
The blades of the auger machine drilling through the rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel were still stuck, officials were reported as saying by news agency PTI. The rescue team will switch to other options to proceed with the operation to safely evacuate the trapped workers. However, the alternative methods are expected to delay their rescue by several days.
Landline facility set up for trapped workers: BSNL official
\”We have set up a telephone exchange. We will give them a phone connected with the line via the pipe being used for sending food. This phone will have incoming and outgoing facilities. They can talk to their family,\” DGM, BSNL, Rakesh Chaudhary told PTI.
Uttarakhand CM takes stock of situation
Rescue operations to take time, focus now on vertical drilling, says NDMA
Rescue operations at the Silkyara tunnel will take time, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said, adding that their focus is now on vertical drilling. According to the NDMA, 86 meters of vertical drilling needed to reach Silkyara tunnel\’s crust.
Efforts on to retrieve broken part of auger machine, says NDMA
The National Disaster Management Authority said 47-meter drilling done so far, and efforts are underway to retrieve broken part of the auger machine.
Plasma cutter from Hyderabad being flown in, manual drilling to begin tomorrow, says CM Dhami
A plasma cutter is being flown in from Hyderabad to cut the auger machine, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami told ANI. \”Everyone knows that this rescue operation is being done under difficult and challenging circumstances. The machine got stuck after reaching so close…We are expecting that by tomorrow morning this machine will come out, and after that, the operation will move forward manually,\” the chief minister added.
Confident that workers are coming home safe by Christmas, says top expert involved in rescue ops
“We are looking at multiple options, but with each option, we are considering how do we make sure that 41 men come home safe and we don\’t hurt anyone…The mountain has again resisted the auger, so we are rethinking our approach…I am confident that the 41 men are coming home by Christmas…I have always promised that the workers will be home by Christmas,\” said Arnold Dix, an international tunneling expert who is involved in the rescue operations.
Auger machine\’s blades stuck inside rubble, plasma cutter needed: CM Dhami
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, while commenting on the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation, said the auger machine\’s blades are stuck inside the rubble, and that a plasma cutter would be needed.
AAP leader questions govt over Uttarkashi tunnel incident
Delhi minister and AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, while commenting on the Uttarkashi tunnel incident, told ANI, “Three days ago, I expressed a doubt that were standard operating procedures followed in this (Uttarkashi Tunnel). Now that I am seeing the news in newspapers, that fear has turned out to be true. To bypass environmental clearance, the project of building hundreds of metres of roads was divided into 53 small parts. Then it was passed so that there is no requirement for environmental clearance… This work is done by the central and Uttarakhand governments.\”
CM Dhami arrives in Uttarkashi to take stock of situation | Video
Manual drilling to rescue 41 trapped workers in last stretch
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse LIVE news updates: Efforts to rescue 41 workers trapped in a highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas for two weeks will be further slowed as rescuers are considering drilling through the last 10 meters of debris manually, an official said on Saturday.
The heavy drill machine being used to break through the nearly 60 meters of debris was damaged on Friday and needs to be pulled out entirely, according to an official statement. (Reuters)
Damaged blades of the auger drilling machine brought out | Video
Vertical drilling at Silkyara tunnel to rescue 41 workers
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse LIVE news updates: Vertical drilling will soon begin at the Silkyara tunnel site where 41 workers are trapped for the past 14 days.
\’Manual drilling will start once Auger removed from pipeline\’
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse LIVE news updates: An official has said that manual drilling to reach the 41 trapped workers will start once the Auger is removed from the pipeline. Today is the 14th day since the workers have been trapped in the Silkyara tunnel.
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse LIVE: ‘No heavy objects present up to 5 metres,’ say experts
The team of experts who came to conduct a survey at the rescue site of the Silkyara tunnel, where 41 workers were trapped after a portion of the tunnel collapsed over a week ago, informed that there were no heavy objects up to 5 metres in the rescue tunnel.
The team, which came from Parsan Overseas Pvt Ltd Delhi, used the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technique to examine the rescue tunnel.
Ground Penetrating Radar, also known as GPR, Georadar, Subsurface Interface Radar, or Geo-probing Radar, is a totally non-destructive technique to produce a cross-section profile of the subsurface without any drilling, trenching or ground disturbances.
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse LIVE: Timeline of the incident and rescue operation
- November 12: The labourers get trapped as portions of the Silkyara-Dandalgaon under-construction tunnel on the Brahmkhal-Yamunotri highway collapse following a landslide at around 5.30 am on the day of Diwali. Rescue efforts are launched by the district administration and arrangements made to supply oxygen, electricity and eatables to the trapped labourers through air-compressed pipes. Multiple agencies, including the NDRF, SDRF, BRO, project executing agency NHIDCL and ITBP, join the rescue efforts.
- November 13: Contact is established with the trapped workers through a pipe meant to supply oxygen to them and they are reported to be safe. Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami visits the site. Fresh rubble keeps falling from above due to which the debris accumulated in an area of around 30 metres spreads to 60 metres, further complicating the rescue mission.
- November 14: Steel pipes of 800- and 900-millimetre diameter are brought to the tunnel site to be inserted through the rubble with the help of an auger machine for horizontal digging. However, when more rubble falls from the cavity created by the cave-in, two labourers sustain minor injuries.
- November 15: Dissatisfied with the first drilling machine, the NHIDCL asks for a state-of-the-art auger machine, which is airlifted from Delhi to speed up the operation.
- November 16: The drilling machine is assembled and installed. It starts working past midnight.
- November 17: Working overnight, the machine drills about 24 metres through the 57-metre stretch rubble stretch by the afternoon and four MS pipes are inserted. The process comes to a halt when the fifth pipe hits an obstacle. Another high-performance auger machine is flown down from Indore to assist in the rescue efforts. In the evening, the NHIDCL, during the positioning of the fifth pipe, reports that a big cracking sound was heard in the tunnel. An expert warns about the possibility of further collapse in the vicinity and the operation is suspended immediately.
- November 18: Drilling does not resume on Saturday as experts feel that the vibrations created by the diesel-driven 1,750-horse power American auger inside the tunnel might cause more debris to collapse, posing a risk to the lives of the rescue personnel.
- November 19: Drilling remains suspended while Union minister Nitin Gadkari who reviews the rescue operation says boring horizontally with the huge auger machine appeared to be the best bet. He anticipates a breakthrough within two and a half days.
- November 20: PM Narendra Modi speaks to Dhami over phone to take stock of the rescue operations at the Silkyara tunnel and stresses on the need to keep their morale up. Rescuers push through a six-inch-wide pipeline through the rubble, a breakthrough that helps them supply larger quantities of food and other essentials to trapped workers.
- November 21: Rescuers release the first video of the labourers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel. The workers, wearing yellow and white helmets, are seen receiving food items sent to them through the pipeline and talking to each other. Two blasts are set off at the Balkot-end of the under-construction tunnel on the Char Dham route, beginning the process of drilling another tunnel – an alternative to the Silkyara-end option. However, this approach could take up to 40 days, experts said. The NHIDCL resumes overnight the “horizontal boring operation from the Silkyara end\” that involved an auger machine.
- November 22: Ambulances are kept on standby and a special ward at a local health centre is made ready. Horizontal drilling of 800 mm diameter steel pipes reaches about 45 metres with only 12 metres remaining of the around 57-metre debris stretch. However, in a late evening development, the drilling hits a hurdle when some iron rods come in the way of the auger machine.
- November 23: The iron obstruction that had caused a delay of six hours in the drilling is removed in the morning. Rescue operations are resumed. State government\’s nodal officer tells reporters that drilling had progressed by 1.8 metre after Wednesday night\’s setback.Officials say the 48-metre point has been reached by the drill. But boring through the rubble had to be put on hold again apparently after cracks appeared in the platform on which the drilling machine rests.
- November 24: The the 25-tonne machine is restarted on Friday evening and drilling is resumed. However, a fresh hurdle is faced as the boring continues for about an hour before the drill hits a metal girder. The rescue operation is halted again.
Uttarkashi tunnel collapse LIVE: Rescue ops halted as drill hits metal girder
As the rescue operations to evacuate 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand\’s Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district entered the thirteenth day on Friday, it faced yet another setback. The auger drilling machine hit a metal girder in the evening. The rescue operation is halted again.
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