Uttarakhand Tunnel collapse: Vertical drilling on, another 86 metres to be excavated to reach workers

Uttarakhand Tunnel collapse: Vertical drilling on, another 86 metres to be excavated to reach workers

On the sixteenth day of the operations to rescue the labourers under the tunnel in Uttarakhand, authorities are examining various options as the vertical drilling to free the forty-one trapped workers from the collapsed part of the Uttarkashi tunnel continues.

Beginning on Sunday afternoon, the Silkyara hill is being vertically drilled for the purpose of rescuing the trapped workers. Approximately 110 metres of the slope will be excavated. And already, about 86 metres of excavation remains, as the machine has already dug 20 metres of the slope in a quick operation.

After the American auger failed in its attempt to dig the tunnel horizontally and became trapped in the metal grinder mid-operation, the vertical drilling equipment was brought in. These are the salient features of the rescue operation.

The operation is fast-paced since the vertical drilling equipment has already bored 20 metres into the ground in the first 12 hours of the rescue effort.

From the top of the hill, the vertical drilling machine is moving quickly, and the plasma machine that was sent in from Hyderabad is removing the auger machine from the pipe on the tunnel’s side.

A tiny 6-inch tunnel built into the debris is used to provide water, medical supplies, and freshly cooked meals to the stranded soldiers.

A helicopter and a harness rope will be used to rescue the 41 stranded workers out of the collapsed tunnel when the vertical drilling is finished.

The last part of the expedition is presently underway, and it is anticipated that the rescue operations would require a further twenty-four hours.

In the next 12 to 24 hours, it is anticipated that the vertical drilling will be finished, and the workers will probably be flown out of a steel pipe. A medical team will be on standby to assist with their rapid transport to a nearby medical institution.