New Delhi: A fresh landslide Tuesday has made the evacuation of 40 trapped workers inside an Uttarkashi tunnel more challenging, with authorities hoping the men would be pulled out by Wednesday.
The 40 men have been trapped inside since the early hours of Sunday after a portion of the underpass they were helping construct collapsed in the landslide prone area.
Rescue team established contact with them Monday and managed to push in oxygen, water and food through an existing drainage pipe.
The operation has been laborious so far since the men are locked out 270 metres from the mouth of the 4.5-kilometre Silkyara to Dandalgaon tunnel. This is part of the central government’s ambitious Char Dham project for better access to Uttarakhand’s pilgrimage spots.
Apart from the landslide, the rescue operation has been further hindered because the drilling machine brought Tuesday did not work “due to technical issues”. An officer of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) said Wednesday morning that an alternative piece of equipment was on its way to the site by helicopter.
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Another officer admitted the rescue was challenging, and that the teams — including multiple central and state forces — were at it “day and night”.
“We are trying to innovate further… and will use a new machine. I can say at the moment that all the men are safe. They asked for food around 5.30 am today and we could give it to them. The area they are in is well lit.”
However, the officer added that some debris was still coming down the slope.
VIDEO | Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: "The rescue operation is challenging but we are trying our best to rescue the (40) trapped workers. Two NDRF teams are present here. The trapped workers are safe," says an NDRF official. pic.twitter.com/pVSdi2ZnJV
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 15, 2023
Meanwhile, colleagues of the trapped workers held a protest near the tunnel Wednesday morning, rebuking authorities for being unable to evacuate the 40 men even three days after the accident.
#WATCH | Uttarkashi tunnel accident | A protest by workers breaks out at the site of the accident where the relief and rescue operation is ongoing. #Uttarakhand pic.twitter.com/bvvXrASSTh
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) November 15, 2023
All eyes are now on the heavy machine being flown in from Delhi, which authorities believe will be able to break through the huge boulders still blocking the passageway.
Tuesday’s landslide happened at around 4.45 pm, when an “auger” machine — to further drill into the tunnel — was being installed onto a platform.
Till last evening, authorities had scooped out around 20 metres of rubble, and a similar distance remains to be unclogged to free the trapped men.
The plan is to push through both 800-millimetre and 900-millimetre diameter sections of mild steel pipes — one after the other — into the rubble with drilling equipment to create an escape route for workers.
An expert team of five engineers from the irrigation department is at the spot to oversee the insertion process, the State Emergency Operation Centre has said.
Among the trapped workers, 15 are from Jharkhand, eight from Uttar Pradesh, five from Odisha, four from Bihar, three from West Bengal, two each from Uttarakhand and Assam, and one from Himachal Pradesh.
Worker Gabbar Singh Negi’s son was allowed to speak to his father for a few seconds Tuesday. “He said they are safe. He asked us not to worry,” Akash Singh Negi told PTI.
A local priest also performed a puja for the men’s safe evacuation.
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