Uttarakhand tunnel accident; last step also blocked; rescue mission getting delayed

UTTARKASHI: The mission to rescue 41 workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand is getting delayed due to unexpected obstacles at the last stage. Drilling has not resumed yet. It has been 13 days since the workers were trapped.

It is reported that the auger machine that did the drilling was moved out of the tunnel. Experts are also checking whether the debris can be removed without mechanical help.

Thursday's mission was halted after the 25-tonne concrete platform anchored by the auger machine collapsed and the drilled iron pipe crashed into an iron frame. The machine crashed into the iron frame that hit the ground when the tunnel collapsed. The damage to the platform was repaired and the machine was fixed. The experts crawled through the rescue pipe and removed the obstruction by cutting the iron frame with a gas cutter. The impact of the crash had damaged the drilling blade of the auger machine. It was unplugged and the problem was fixed. Drilling resumed on Thursday afternoon but was halted again due to minor tremors. Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand government officially informed today that the drilled iron pipe has bent and the auger machine has been damaged again. About two meters of bent pipe had to be cut into small pieces. The workers can be reached only if the remains are drilled for ten more meters. There has been little progress in the mission since Thursday.
However, the ground penetration radar test revealed that there are no obstacles in the next five meters, officials said. If drilling resumes, two or three more iron pipes will have to be drilled in. Col. Deepak Patil, who is in charge of the mission, said that if there are no new obstacles, the drilling and welding of the pipes will be completed in six to seven hours.

Meanwhile, the disaster management personnel completed the rehearsal of pulling the workers out through the rescue tube on a wheeled stretcher.

Union Minister VK Singh reached the spot today. He entered the tunnel and assessed the rescue operations.