Uttarakhand CM Reaches Tunnel Collapse Site, Says Preparations Started To Evacuate Workers As Pipe Pushed Across Debris

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami informed that there has been great success in the ongoing rescue operation in Silkyara Tunnel as the work of pipe pushing has been done across the debris.

He said that now preparations have been started to evacuate the workers safely. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) stated that once the breakthrough is achieved, extracting each of the 41 men is estimated to take 3-5 minutes per individual.

Consequently, the overall operation may extend up to 3-4 hours. The NDMA is also considering potential obstacles or gaps, such as equipment breakdowns, in the plan.

Rescue teams have been clearing the final few meters of debris using the rat-hole-mining technique after the auger drilling machines failed to drill the necessary 60 meters.

Rat-hole mining began on Monday evening with the arrival of at least six miners from Delhi and Jhansi to manually dig inside the tunnels.

As part of the ongoing rescue operation, a temporary medical facility has been established inside the tunnel. Once the workers are evacuated, a health check-up will be conducted at this facility.

In case of any issues, the health department has arranged eight beds, and a team of doctors and experts is deployed for immediate assistance.

In a recent video, NDRF rescue workers were observed carrying stretchers and ropes into the tunnel.

The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel are anticipated to enter the steel chute, which has been pushed into the drilled passage over the past several days, and subsequently retrieve the workers one by one.

Following the established procedure, each worker will recline on a wheeled stretcher, which will be pulled by rescue workers stationed outside using ropes. This process is expected to take approximately two or three hours.