The NDMA member reported that 47 metres of horizontal drilling had been completed, and work was still being done to extract the broken part of the auger machine.
Digital Desk: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) stated on Saturday that the mission to rescue the 41 workers who are stuck in the Silkyara tunnel may take a while since the auger equipment for horizontal drilling is running into problems, and rescuers are getting ready to commence vertical drilling.
According to NDMA member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, the vertical drilling will begin in the next 24 to 36 hours. He also mentioned that the auger machine's front portion had been damaged and that attempts were being made to extract it from the tunnel. Without indicating when the rescue efforts would be finished, he stated, "We need to have patience as it is a dangerous operation... 'is operation main lamba samay lag sakta hai" (this operation may take a long time).
The auger machine that was boring into the debris to create an escape route ran against a barrier, maybe a metal object, and broke, forcing the rescue efforts at the collapsed section of the Silkyara tunnel to stop again on Friday night.
The NDMA member reported that 47 metres of horizontal drilling had been completed, and work was still being done to extract the broken part of the auger machine.
Other possibilities being considered by the rescuers include vertical drilling and hand drilling of the remaining stretch.
Regarding the vertical drilling option, the member of the NDMA stated that activities would begin in the "next 24 to 36 hours" and that machinery would be positioned on a platform above the tunnel.
According to him, top-down (vertical) drilling of 86 metres would be the second-fastest method (after horizontal drilling) to get to the stranded workers.
Hasnain said that the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has already constructed a 1.5-kilometer access road to the top of the tunnel on the Silkyara side in order to commence vertical drilling.
"Patience is a necessary virtue. We must acknowledge that a really challenging operation is underway," Hasnain stated. She noted that while two approaches are already in use, a third approach—the drift method—may also be employed.
"As per the prevailing situation, we need to keep the pipe stable, remove the broken parts of the auger, prepare to begin the drift on the side, prepare for top-down drilling, and stabilise and strengthen the 41 brothers trapped inside and keep monitoring their mental well-being, since this operation can go on for long," the member of the NDMA stated.
Additionally, he stated that the Indian Air Force's assistance is being requested to airlift the sophisticated technology needed to dismantle the jammed auger components within the tunnel.
On November 12, a section of the tunnel under construction on the Char Dham route in Uttarakhand collapsed due to a landslip, trapping workers within. This sparked a multi-agency rescue attempt.
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