Dehradun, Nov 14: A total of 40 workers, who are trapped in the Uttarkashi tunnel in Uttarakhand for over 48 hours, are reportedly safe according to authorities, and are being provided with food, water, and oxygen. The rescue teams have been working nonstop since the collapse on early Sunday morning.
What is the rescue plan?
Trucks laden with 900 mm diameter pipes started arriving at Silkyara at midnight. A portion of the under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway collapsed in the early hours of November 12.
According to authorities, a platform is being prepared for an auger machine to drill horizontally and insert large-diameter MS pipes in between the debris so that the trapped workers can be taken out through the metal pipes.
Rescuers said that the teams still have to clear about 35 metres of debris more to reach the location of the 40 trapped workers.
The platform for the auger machine has been prepared.
All the material and machinery needed for the daring operation has been brought to the site. Experts from the irrigation department have also joined the operation.
Videos from the spot showed huge piles of concrete blocking the tunnel, twisted metal bars from its broken roof buried in rubble creating more obstacles for rescue workers - who are mostly migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
What happened?
40 workers are trapped in the tunnel on Sunday morning after the under construction structure on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway. The workers - who have been trapped in a buffer zone - are unharmed and are being supplied with food and oxygen through water pipelines. "They have a buffer of around 400 metres to walk and breathe," a Disaster response official said.
The rescue teams have successfully established communication with the workers with Walkie-Talkies. Initial contact was made via a note on a scrap of paper, but later rescuers managed to connect using radio handsets.
What is Uttarkashi tunnel?
The 4.5-km tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway, which will join Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi, is part of the Chardham project. Once finished, it is expected to cut down the distance by 26 km. It is 4531 meters long and is being constructed at a cost of Rs 853.79 crore.
A report from the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) says the tunnel had been breached by 21 metres and rescue efforts are continuing.
"On November 10, 2023, re-profiling work was started from Ch. 260m to Ch. 265m at LHS and for the same patch primary lining works for the same were completed. On November 12, breaking work was started from Ch. 260m to Ch. 263m for the next patch of work and around 5:30 am, early morning collapse occurred from Ch. 205m to 260 meters where re-profiling was completed. 40 workers based on contractor tunnel entry register trapped inside the tunnel," the report said.