So near yet so far: Rescue operations in Uttarkashi tunnel halted

From 22 metres, the pipe had reached 45 metres till Wednesday night, but the auger machine had to temporarily halt operations after an iron girder was encountered by authorities at the site

The promising progress in efforts to rescue 41 workers was marred by agonising obstacles on Thursday, as drilling through the rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand was put on hold repeatedly.

On Thursday evening, the platform on which the 25-tonne auger machine is moun­ted developed cracks. Officials in Uttarkashi district said rescue workers would “stabilise” the platform before drilling is resumed again. The rescue operation was once resumed earlier in the day after an overnight hurdle delayed the drilling by several hours.
 

The tunnel caved in on November 12 as debris fell in a 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara end of the structure connecting the highway to Barkot town.
 

On Thursday, senior government officials said rescue efforts were facing obstacles in the form of iron girders and concrete mixed in the debris. After encountering a hurdle at a 22-metre mark earlier, the escape pipe had reached 45 metres till Wednesday night out of a 57-metre stretch of debris. But the auger machine had to halt operations after it encountered an iron girder.
 

Every time the machine runs into an iron girder or other major obstacles, it has to be pulled back and the impediments are manually removed with gas cutters and other equipment, explained National Disaster Management Authority member Syed Ata Hasnain at a press conference.
 

A statement from the Ministry of Road Tra­nsport and Highways on Thursday evening pointed out that the pipe ran into a meta­llic object (lattice girder rib) and could not be inserted further. At 2.30 am, the object was cut using gas cutters. The trenchless team en­t­ered the pipe manually twice to confirm the clearance of the rescue pipe. “Pushing of the 9th pipe started at 1310 hrs and the pipe rea­ched an additional 1.8 metre. Minor vibration was noted, so auger is being pushed slightly back to reassess the force to be applied. Aug­ering will start shortly thereafter,” added the statement, which had updates till 2.30 pm.
 

Hasnain told the media that “in the next few hours or by Friday, we will be successful in this operation”. Explaining the halt in operations in the wee hours of Thursday, he said that the circumstances of the tunnel collapse meant that nobody could anticipate at what angles the girders and concrete had caved in. Hasnain said that such obstructions were likely to recur, causing further delays.
 

Officials said that the trapped workers were relatively high on morale and expressed confidence in their safe evacuation. With a communication channel in place, counsellors have also been able to talk to the tunnel workers and understand their ordeal.

The Centre is continuing to bank on the auger drilling route, whose success depends on the number of obstacles it faces, as navigating through the debris is a delicate task. Efforts are also on for micro-tunnelling or the creation of a “drift” in case the auger method is no longer viable.
 

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited is also creating a perpendicular micro-tunnel. “Equipment for micro-tunnelling required for horizontal drilling to rescue labourers has reached the site,” the ministry’s statement said, adding that its platform was likely to be placed by Friday and an equipment set up a day later.
 

With inputs from PTI