Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue Op Day 5: Worker confined for over 96 Hours; Food and Medicines given to 40 stuck

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• Nov 16, 2023 | Poonam Nath

The Silkyara Tunnel project collapsed on November 12, trapping 40 construction workers beneath...

Digital Desk: Today marked the fifth day of rescue operations to free 40 construction workers trapped beneath debris in a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district. The workmen have been imprisoned within the tunnel for almost 96 hours, their lives hanging by a thread.

The Silkyara Tunnel project collapsed on November 12, trapping 40 construction workers beneath the wreckage.

The stranded workers are receiving critical supplies of food and medicine. Rescue personnel communicate with the workers regularly to keep their morale up and their hope alive.

Elite rescue teams from Thailand and Norway have joined forces to aid in the ongoing rescue attempt, including the team that successfully rescued the trapped youngsters from a cave in Thailand in 2018. 

The use of an 'American auger' machine within the tunnel was a watershed moment in the rescue effort. The use of this sophisticated equipment is expected to speed up the clearing procedure and bring the stranded workers closer to safety.

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The 'American auger' machine arrived in a disassembled form at the Chinyalisaur airport, which is located more than 30 kilometres from the collapsed tunnel on the Char Dham pilgrimage path. The goal is to use the equipment to excavate a path through the collapsed tunnel section's debris. 

Once the channel is free of debris, 800-mm and 900-mm mild steel pipe segments will be fitted one at a time. After this procedure is completed, the workers trapped on the other side of the rubble will be able to crawl to safety.

After more than 70 hours of nonstop work, rescue efforts were hampered yesterday by a new landslip. Rescue workers had spent hours building a platform for the 'American auger,' but the new landslip prompted them to remove the machine and resume platform construction.

It is to be mentioned that, The tunnel is part of the grandiose Char Dham project, a national infrastructure endeavour to improve access to the Hindu holy sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.