Updated, Nov. 25, 2023. 8.26 PM.
The rescue operation of the 41 workers trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand is still on. The National Disaster Management Authority has said that the trapped workers are stable inside the tunnel. In a media briefing today, NDMA member Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain said, the aim is to keep the 47 metre long path laid down inside the tunnel stable. Mr Hasnain further added that the auger drilling has been put on a halt due to technical issues.
The National Disaster Management Authority said, the process of manual digging will be used with the help of power tools. The option of vertical drilling from the top of the mountain to cut through the tunnel crust is also being considered. According to Syed Ata Hasnain, The third methodology of the drift technique might be adopted at a later point.
Speaking to the Media, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami assured that all necessary actions are being taken to evacuate workers from the tunnel. He said that the rescue operation would resume after the blade of the destroyed auger machine was removed from the pipe. Mr Dhami also spoke to the stranded workers and informed them of the ongoing rescue operation.
The Chief Minister stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being regularly updated on the relief and rescue operations.