Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: Rescue work on hold as drilling machine breaks down

To resume the rescue operation, an additional auger machine has been airlifted from Indore.

Efforts to rescue around 41 workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand for almost a week had to be stopped on November 17 after the new "high-performance" drilling machine broke down after reaching a depth of 22 meters.

The Uttarkashi district administration announced late in the night that there were 41 workers trapped in the tunnel and not 40 as was said earlier.

The American auger machine couldn’t drill further after its bearings were damaged. The drilling work at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi came to halt at 9 am on November 17. The machine was put into action at around 10.30 am on November 16, replacing the previous one that was damaged by a landslide.

A team of experts also arrived from Delhi to conduct a "geo-physical survey" of the debris using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and the "seismic reflection method" to identify obstacles in the drilling machine's path, officials said.

To resume the rescue operation, an additional auger machine has been airlifted from Indore. The backup machine was expected to reach the site by November 18 morning.

The new machine can drill at a speed of 5 meters per hour, though it might operate at the standard pace considering the current challenges.

The under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri national highway collapsed in the early hours of November 12.

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Anshu Manish Khalkho, the director (admin & finance) of NHIDCL (National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited), the central government PSU overseeing the project, said, "We're in a good situation and can achieve a breakthrough once the next 30 to 35 meters of drilling is completed. It can happen even earlier. Four pipes have been inserted, and the fifth pipe has been set up for further drilling. Till now, we are achieving an optimum penetration speed of 1 to 2 meters per hour."

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He said the constant use of heavy machines could disrupt the equilibrium of the tunnel's surface. Stopping the machines for a period was deemed necessary to prevent potential imbalances, he said.

(With agency inputs)