Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: Drilling Halted, Heavy Machine Called From Indore To Rescue Stranded Workers

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): A heavy-duty drilling machine has been sent from Madhya Pradesh's Indore to rescue the workers stranded at Uttarkashi tunnel site on Saturday. The machine is likely to reach the spot by today late evening.

Silkyara Tunnel collapse

Early on November 12, the Brahmakal-Yamunotri national highway's under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon had collapsed, leaving 40 workers stranded.

After the rescuers drilled 25 metres into the debris on Saturday, the drilling operation inside the Silkyara tunnel was suspended, according to a top official.

Anshu Manish Khulko, director of the tunnel-making company, NHIDCL, said the drilling work to reach the trapped workers is suspended for now.

Auger machine stopped working after hitting a rock rock face

Asked if the drilling work was stopped due to a snag in the machine being used in the rescue operation, Khulko added, "There was no fault in the machine." "The work on enabling the insertion of a pipeline to extricate the trapped workers had been ongoing over the last three days. Only 25 metres of the pipe-laying work has been completed so far," he informed.

He stated that the NHIDCL managing director is anticipated to arrive at the scene on Saturday and will provide more information once he has assessed the state of the continuing rescue efforts.

The Auger machine that was drilling on Friday struck a rock face and stopped working. But in the afternoon, the machine began to function once more.

The company building the tunnel, National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited, said in a statement to the media on Friday that 40 metres of the collapsed tunnel are currently being excavated using shotcreting, or concrete spraying, and that a cavity has formed 10 metres above the crown on both the left and right sides, as well as the beginnings of a chimney formation along the tunnel.

The statement also stated that a second shotcrete machine has been moved from RVNL Package-ll to the work site.

As part of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways' Chardham Project, the 4531-meter Silkyara Tunnel will connect the Gangotri and Yamunotri axis beneath the Radi pass area.

At a cost of Rs 853.79 crore, NHIDCL is building the tunnel through Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd.