Official told when manual drilling will start to reach workers

Uttarkashi (ANI): Manual drilling will soon begin to cut through the debris separating rescue workers from 41 workers trapped in the collapsed section of the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, officials said on Saturday.
According to officials, manual drillers will start working after the US-made, heavy-duty auger drilling machine is removed from the pipeline, through which the trapped workers are to be pulled out.
Manual drillers will work to cut through the remaining debris that separates rescuers from workers and enables the pipeline to be inserted through the further few meters that still have to be covered.
The ongoing operation to rescue workers trapped after a part of the tunnel collapsed on November 12 entered its 14th day on Saturday.

Success in pulling the auger driller out of the pipeline may soon be achieved, officials added, adding that the heavy-duty driller can now be moved back 22 metres.
Speaking to ANI, a senior official associated with the rescue operation said that manual drilling may begin soon.
He said the remaining debris, which extends about 6 to 9 meters between the rescue teams and the trapped workers, will be removed through manual drilling.
Elaborating on why officials involved in the rescue operation decided to remove the auger from the pipeline, the senior official told ANI, “While drilling with a US-made auger machine, if we hit an obstacle every two to three feet collide with. We have to remove it. And, every time we hit a blockage, we had to move the auger back 50 meters (as far as the pipeline was laid).

After repairs are made, the machine has to be pushed back 50 metres. Which takes about 5 to 7 hours. “This is why the rescue operation is taking longer than necessary.”
“The rescue team has now decided that the pipeline will now be moved forward through manual drilling at small distances. Even if we hit a bottleneck further, the problem can be solved manually and the pipeline can be moved forward without wasting precious time. ,” the officer said.

He further informed that after drilling further for 5 metres, the rescue workers will reach the last few meters that separate them from the trapped workers.

While officials avoided citing a time frame within which the rescue operation could be completed, they said they were hopeful of positive results after manual drilling began on Saturday.

Earlier, the team of experts who reached the tunnel site to survey said that there is no heavy object up to 5 meters inside the tunnel.
The team from Parson Overseas Pvt Ltd, Delhi, used ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology to investigate the rescue tunnel.

Ground penetrating radar, also known as GPR, georadar, subsurface interface radar or geo-probing radar, is a completely non-invasive method for producing cross-section profiles of the subsurface without any drilling, trenching or ground disturbance. -Disastrous technology. GPR profiles are used to evaluate the location and depth of buried objects and to investigate the presence and continuity of natural subsurface conditions and features.

After examining the rescue tunnel, geophysicist and GPR survey team member B Chendur said he was called to the spot after the auger driller hit an obstacle.
On November 12, after a portion of the tunnel caved in, 41 workers were trapped inside due to debris falling on a 60 meter section of the tunnel on the Silkyara side.
The workers are trapped in the 2 km constructed portion, which has been completed including concrete work, which provides them safety. (ANI)