Silkyara Tunnel Collapse: Rescue work halted due to technical glitch
Dehradun: An attempt to rescue 41 trapped workers hit a major hurdle after the scopes of the barrage machine that was drilling through the debris to create an escape package inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel were lifted from the debris on Friday. night, which forced officials to consider changing to other options that could delay rescue operations by several more weeks.
Late in the night on Friday, the perforating head of the machine broke the barrel and fell into a metal obstacle that prevented it from perforating further.
On day 14 of the rescue mission from various agencies, the officials changed their attention to two alternatives: drilling manually through the remaining shaft of debris 10 to 12 meters or, more likely, drilling 86 meters from the top.
The vertical drilling will begin in the next 24 to 36 hours, said the senior NDMA member. Gen. said Syed Ata Hasnain (retired), adding that the front part of the barrel machine was rotting and efforts were being made to recover the tunnel.
Indicative that this was the faster of the two main options we were now considering.
According to the Lieutenant Gen. Hasnain, this rescue operation is becoming technically more complex every day. “This operation could take a lot of time”, said the NDMA member in his press conference.
At the site of the disaster, the international expert on tunnels Arnold Dix reiterated his promise to evacuate the workers “before Christmas”, for what was missing in a month.
While presenting the report, the rescue operation to save 41 lives trapped under a collapsed tunnel for 14 days was in suspension, while Dhami said it would be resumed after examining the path of perforation on Sunday afternoon.
In statements to the media in Silkyara, Prime Minister Pushkar Dhami said on Saturday that the work done would now be carried out manually once the starry component of the equipment was removed using a plasma cutter supplied from Hyderabad.
“They have removed about 20 meters of the piece of machine that trapped the ruble, and the remaining 25 meters have been carried out by the experts. The actual speed to cut the obstacles of iron rods is slow. They are trying a plasma cutter. from Hyderabad to quickly remove all the obstacles. It is probable that all this will end on Sunday afternoon”, said Mr Dhami.
“Only a small part of the passage remains. We do not spare any effort and hope to rescue our brothers trapped in the tunnel as soon as possible”, added the Prime Minister.
“I also talked to those who are inside the tunnel. Everyone is well and happy. Dijeron: No matter how much time is needed, we will evacuate safely. We are working on all the options. They have also started the vertical drilling work. Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limit (SJVNL) has started working in vertical drilling, while RVNL is dedicated to horizontal drilling from the edge of Barkot”, said Dhami.
Authorities have handed out mobile phones and table games to the 41 trapped workers to relieve their stress, an official said Saturday.
“They have provided mobile phones so that workers can play video games. They have also provided table games such as parchis, snakes and ladders”, said an official.
“These games will help to eliminate stress”, said another official.
In addition to the horizontal and vertical perforations, the rescuers are also deliberating whether the trapped workers could also perform debris cleaning tasks from its extreme, given that the remaining distance is only 10 to 12 meters.
According to one official, “the workers stated that they oiled the gas that was emanating from the metals while the technicians worked to remove the obstructions through gas cutters and other means. This indicates their proximity to the debris. This could ensure that they could be removed from on your side it is possible.”
It is significant that the length of the escape passage that will be punched through the tunnel’s debris ranges from 57 to 60 meters, but so far only 47 meters of work has been completed.
