Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: IAF flies in ‘critical DRDO equipment. Top updates

Efforts to rescue the 41 construction workers trapped inside the Silkyara-Barkot under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi entered its 15th day on Sunday.

The workers have been trapped behind a huge mound of debris since November 12. The rescue operations have hit a technical snag several times in the past few days, delaying the evacuation process. However, experts believe that the evacuation process may be carried out without any snags in the last stage of drilling.

Here are the latest updates on Uttarkashi tunnel collapse:

While there was no movement in the last 24 hours in the drilling work to rescue the 41 trapped workers due to a technical snag, the vertical drilling of the tunnel is expected to resume by this afternoon. Reports indicated that the drilling machine has arrived at the rescue site, a day after the American auger broke down beyond repair.

Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force said it flew in critical DRDO equipment to Dehradun for the rescue work.

“Responding with alacrity to the requirements of the ongoing rescue operation, late last evening the IAF flew in critical DRDO equipment to Dehradun,” it said.

According to experts, only 10-12 meters of drilling is required and there would be no metal obstruction now that could cause a snag in the rescue operations. If this does not work, officials will resort to manual drilling.

Officials have now shifted focus to two alternatives to carry out the rescue operations – manual drilling through the remaining 10 or 12-meter stretch of the rubble or drilling down 85-90 meters from the top of the mountain.

On Saturday, Telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) stepped in to set up a small telephone exchange at the tunnel site for the trapped workers to speak to their families.

A member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member, Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain (retired) on Saturday said that the rescue operation has become “technically complex”, adding that the rescuers are working in an environment of unpredictability. “You are seeing that this operation is getting technically complex. Earlier there were not many complexities and that is why some people in media were assuming timelines but we never gave timelines from our side. We are conducting rescue operations on hills. We are working in an environment of unpredictability,” he said while addressing a press briefing.

International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix expressed hope about the safe return of the trapped workers by Christmas. “Some time from now until one month and 41 men will be home safe. I just don’t know exactly when. I mean that we should not rush. We should just consider the most important thing and that is that the men come home safe. And I am confident that they will be home in time for Christmas,” he told ANI.

Communist Party of India (CPI) MP Binoy Viswam on Saturday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the collapse of the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarkashi saying that the development activities in the Himalayan ecosystem should be undertaken after careful study of the region. He also emphasised on the the social security of workers and said that the “stakeholders and employers should ensure generous insurance amounts to workers working in hazardous and dangerous surroundings.”