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Uttarkashi tunnel op Day 13: Rescuers trudge forward after solving another part of the puzzle

Having navigated yet another hurdle, rescuers continued their operation to save 41 workers trapped inside the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel, inching ever so close to the men who have spent 13 days behind 55 metres of debris.

On Thursday, the drilling machine had run into fore-pole pipes that are generally used in the tunnel roof, following which its blades and platform were damaged. It took the rescuers almost 24 hours to repair the blades, strengthen the platform, and weld a new pipe before the drilling could restart.

The plan remains the same – drill through the debris, insert pipes that are welded together, and pull the men out through those.
It was confirmed by officials that the machine was damaged after reaching around 48 metres inside the debris, and the impact also damaged around 1.2 metres of the 800 mm pipe, which was later cut and removed by rescuers. As a result, on Friday evening, the drilling was set to start from 46.8 metres and is expected to take six-eight hours in case no further blockage is faced.
By Wednesday, we had inserted around 45 metres of the pipe, but after that, the first hurdle was sensed in the form of some metal girder ribs. We could not push the pipe any further and the drilling was stopped. The machine was pulled back because the auger drilling machine was inside the pipe and needed to be checked manually. After manual checking, the rafters were cut using gas cutters. The machine was then reassembled and the pushing (of the pipes) resumed on Thursday,” said Mahmood Ahmad, Additional Secretary (Government of India) and Managing Director of the NHIDCL.

About the author

Nanda Dulal Bhatttacharyya

Nanda Dulal Bhatttacharyya

Journalist by profession, passion for truthful and ground to earth reporting.

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