Rescuers are inching closer to reaching the 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand for the past 13 days. However, officials are unable to provide a specific timeframe for the rescue due to unexpected hurdles that have been causing delays. On a positive note, ground penetrating radar has revealed that there are no major metal obstacles for the next five meters that will be drilled in the coming hours. If all goes well, two more pipes may be enough to reach the trapped workers.
During a press conference, Additional Secretary Technical, Road and Transport, Mahmood Ahmed, and Uttarakhand Secretary Neeraj Khairwal, who is the nodal officer for the rescue operation, explained that the drilling process was delayed when the auger machine hit a metal pipe, causing it to wrap around the drilling blades. Several hours were spent repairing the blades, strengthening the platform, and removing obstructing metal girders and pipes.
Before drilling can resume, some welding needs to be done, which will take approximately two hours. Mr. Ahmed emphasized the importance of careful welding to ensure the strength of the area being welded. Mr. Khairwal also mentioned that time was spent strengthening the platform, which had moved, and a portion of one of the pipes had to be cut.
The delay was further extended by the process of cutting the pipe and removing vertical pipes from the tunnel’s ceiling that were obstructing the drill. This took seven to eight hours. A team of ground penetrating radar experts was called in to assess the situation, and their measurements indicated that the drilling can proceed after the pipe has been cut. The bigger 700 mm auger will now be used to continue the operation.
If everything goes smoothly, pushing in and welding two pipes with a length of six meters each should be sufficient to reach the trapped workers. However, officials cautioned that obstacles and hurdles could still arise at any point.
When asked about the possibility of reaching the workers by Saturday morning, the official stated that it could happen even sooner if everything goes according to plan.
The tunnel where the incident occurred is part of the Char Dham project, an initiative aimed at improving connectivity to the Hindu pilgrimage sites of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri. The workers became trapped when a portion of the tunnel collapsed on November 12.
