Uttarakhand Tunnel collapse-Rebar found after digging 45 meters, drilling stopped

The work of various rescue agencies has reached the final stage to rescue 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand.

Amid the efforts to bring out one by one the 41 laborers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel for the last several days, a rebar was found after digging for 45 meters halting the rescue operations.

Now after removing it, digging will be done again. Only 12 meters more have to be dug, which will take another few hours, this is the horizontal pipe being excavated.

To take out the workers, a path is being prepared by piercing the debris and inserting a steel pipe of 800 mm diameter, the construction of which has reached the final stage. It is being said that the workers can be thrown out at any time.

Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami himself is in Uttarkashi, NDRF's 'second in command' Ravi Shankar Badhani said that NDRF soldiers have practiced how to reach the other side of the debris through pipes where the workers are trapped.

The NDRF team will go inside the 800 mm pipeline and rescue the workers one by one. If the workers feel weak, the NDRF team will bring them out using a temporary trolley fitted with skates.

After evacuating the workers, they will be taken to Chilyansaur Community Health Center in 41 ambulances. A 41-bed hospital has been prepared here. A green corridor has been made to take the workers to this hospital. If needed, the workers can be airlifted to Rishikesh AIIMS.

Efforts are being made to maintain the morale of the workers by talking to them through the pipe. Some workers had demanded mobile phones and chargers. This has been provided to them.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on phone and took information about the ongoing rescue operations in Silkyara.

The Silkyara Tunnel accident took place at 4 am on November 12. Soil sank up to 60 meters within 200 meters of the entry point of the tunnel. 41 laborers got trapped inside. The workers trapped inside the tunnel are from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. This tunnel is being built under the Chardham Road Project.

After the Uttarkashi Tunnel accident, the Road and Transport Ministry has decided to conduct a safety audit of 29 tunnels being built across the country. For this, an agreement has been signed with Konkan Railway Corporation Limited. Experts of NHAI and Delhi Metro will together examine all the tunnels and prepare a report in 7 days.