Rescue workers 'close to' breaking through rubble in Silkyara tunnel

Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: An eight-bed makeshift health centre has been set up inside the tunnel to provide immediate medical care to the workers after their evacuation

Rescue workers were "close" to reaching the breakthrough point at the 60-metre stretch of rubble in Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand on Tuesday, a move that may soon end the ordeal of 41 workers trapped inside for 16 days. At the disaster site, state government's information department chief Bansi Dhar Tiwari told reporters a little after 1.30 pm that the drilling was “over”.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami later said in a post on social media platform X, "With immense blessings of Baba Baukhnag, prayers of crores of country's citizens and relentless hard work of the rescue agencies involved in the operations, pipe-laying through the tunnel has been completed and our brothers will soon be evacuated."

Later in a press briefing, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Syed Ata said the rescue workers were near a breakthrough, “but not quite there”. He said the rat-hole mining experts – manually drilling through the last stretch – had reached the 58-metre point, and there were about two more metres to go.
 

An eight-bed makeshift health centre has been set up inside the tunnel to provide immediate medical care to the workers after their evacuation. Ambulances have been lined up at the mouth of the tunnel to rush the rescued workers to the community health centre about 30 kilometres away, after the initial checkup at the site.

A stretch of mud road was earlier re-laid to make the passage of ambulances easier. Stretchers were being taken inside the mouth of the tunnel.

A portion of the tunnel collapsed on November 12, blocking the exit of 41 workers inside.

On Tuesday morning, Dhami reached the site and said almost 52 metres of drilling had been done, and it was expected that there would be a breakthrough around 57 metres.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took stock of the ongoing rescue and relief efforts from Dhami via call on Tuesday. PM Modi inquired about the well-being of the trapped workers and instructed the chief minister to ensure their safety along with those involved in rescue operations.

Dhami updated the PM regarding the progress of the drilling works inside the tunnel adding that if the rescuers do not encounter any hurdle in the course, all the workers will be evacuated soon.

The prime minister also directed the CM to ensure that the families of the trapped workers do not face any problems

Twelve rat-hole mining experts were involved in the horizontal excavation through the last 10 or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route.

Rat-hole miners have been manually drilling since Monday night. The debris thus generated was taken out manually using ropes from the rescue pipe.

The workers will be taken to Chinyalisaur Hospital after being rescued and brought out. Officials earlier informed that the 41 workers trapped inside the tunnel were stable and safe.

(With agency inputs)