LIVE | Silkyara tunnel collapse: Rescue efforts may extend till tomorrow morning
The medical team has been communicating with the workers inside to find out their condition and to plan the immediate course of action when they are rescued
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Thursday (November 23) said there could be a “success” in bringing out 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand in the next few hours or by Friday.
Briefing media about the ongoing rescue operations, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, also added that it would not be fair to speculate on the timeline for rescue operations as it is just like fighting a war. He also said that rescue work had stopped and is likely to resume shortly.
The NDMA member also said that the horizontal drilling to rescue workers may face 3-4 more hurdles. He further said that 41 ambulances, one each for trapped workers, are in place at the tunnel site, and also facilities are in place to airlift workers in serious condition.
The men have been trapped for 11 days after a portion of the under-construction tunnel on the Uttarakhand Char Dham route collapsed, cutting off its exit. Rescue operations to evacuate the workers resumed on Thursday morning after an overnight hurdle delayed the drilling by several hours.
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International expert Arnold Dix on Thursday evening said the auger machine drilling through the rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand is experiencing “some difficulties” again.
The remark came just hours after drilling to evacuate 41 trapped workers resumed, following a six-hour setback Wednesday night as the American machine encountered an iron girdle.
It was cut by experts, working in a confined environment, before drilling resumed Thursday.
Earlier, drilling was put on hold from Friday afternoon to Tuesday night when the machine encountered a hurdle.
“Right now the auger machine is experiencing some difficulties, for the third time,” Dix to PTI. “We have seen this happen before,” he reminded.
He did not elaborate on the nature of “difficulties” this time, and it was not immediately clear that this will lead to any major delay in the rescue operation that has entered its 12th day.
However, he remained optimistic about the success of the rescue effort. He said the work was going on in a cautious manner, as it should.
Dix, who heads an international consortium of experts in tunnelling, is in Silkyara to offer advice. — PTI
Puthiya Thalaimurai correspondent Niranjan, who is reporting from the rescue spot, said that though enthusiasm does flag a bit when the operation hits obstacles, the rescue team is mostly upbeat.
An Auger machine is being used to drill in pipes, cutting through copious amounts of debris, to bring the 41 workers out. There are iron rods from the tunnel construction work that are impeding the insertion of the rescue pipes, he said.
Once the rescue pipes are well in place, NDRF personnel may go in with oxygen cylinders to bring out the workers one by one, said the correspondent. Low-height stretchers are being readied to bring the workers out through the freshly inserted pipes.
After the pipes are put in, bringing out all the 41 workers is expected to take around three hours, he added.
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and Union Minister General VK Singh (Retd) took a meeting to review the relief and rescue operations after taking stock of the tunnel rescue operation in Silkyara, Uttarkashi.
During this, the CM directed the officers and said that all the agencies should be engaged in relief and rescue work with mutual coordination. It should be the effort of all of us to get the trapped workers out safely as soon as possible, says CMO.
In view of the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation, a temporary Chief Minister Camp office has been set up in Matali, Uttarkashi. Today morning, CM Dhami took stock of the tunnel rescue operation and also consulted with the experts present there.
Dr Narinder Kumar, Hospital Administration, AIIMS Rishikesh, says, "If needed, there is a plan to bring the rescued people to AIIMS Rishikesh. The government has made arrangements at the district hospital in Uttarkashi. They will be taken there first. We have also made arrangements here. Trauma, ICU beds have been reserved for them..."
District Program Officer, 108 Ambulance Narendra Badoni said, "We have been given the direction that as the workers will be rescued from the Silkyara tunnel, the ambulances will be numbered, and we will be informed which ambulance will go where... Serious patients will be shifted to ALS, and normal patients will be kept in BLS. ALS is advanced life support with a cardiac monitor, and BLS is basic life support..."