Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Large steel pipes brought in to pull out trapped workers

The new plan to rescue workers trapped inside the collapsed Uttarkashi tunnel, which involves drilling in 900-mm diameter steel pipes through the debris, began on Tuesday morning. The auger machine and the pipes  arrived at Silkyaraon Monday night. 

The current rescue strategy involves inserting giant pipes through the rubble to create an escape passage. The shotcreting method (spraying concrete to stabilise loosed debris) will also be employed since the loose soil was hampering the rescue efforts. The platform for the auger machine is being prepared. 

The rescue operations are being led by SDRF Commandant Manikant Mishra. A team from Jharkhand - Jharkhand Agency for Promotion of Information Technology CEO Bhuvnesh Pratap Singh, and joint labour commissioners Rajesh Prasad and Robert Lakra - have also joined the rescue team on the direction of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Rescue workers spent the last two days removing the debris that was blocking the tunnel. Of the 40 metres that had to be cleared, the officials managed to drill into 21 metres. 

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the site on Monday, following which he arranged for the hume pipes to be brought into Silkyara from Haridwar and Dehradun. "All the workers trapped inside the tunnel are safe and every effort is being made to get them out soon. Central agencies and experts are also deployed at Ground Zero to assist the local administration in the rescue operation," Dhami posted on X. 

The Uttarakhand government has also constituted a six-member expert committee to investigate the tunnel collapse. A team of geologists has also arrived to determine the cause of accident.

The workers are reportedly well and are being supplied with oxygen, water and dry fruits. "Contact is being maintained with the trapped labourers and the assurance that a huge rescue operation is being carried out by various agencies to evacuate them has also boosted their morale," NHIDCL executive director Col (retd.) Sandip Sudehra told PTI.

A six-bed temporary hospital has also been set up near the tunnel and 10 ambulances with medical teams stationed to provide immediate medical care to the trapped workers after their evacuation.

A portion of an under-construction tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway caved in on Sunday morning due to a landslide. Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Kumar Sinha said authorities have set a target of rescuing the trapped labourers by Tuesday night or Wednesday.  Of the 40 workers, 15 are from Jharkhand, eight from Uttar Pradesh, five from Orissa, four from Bihar, three from West Bengal, two each from Uttarakhand and Assam, and one from Himachal Pradesh. 

Meanwhile, the officials have requested local people and leaders to avoid visiting the cite as the crows was hampering the rescue efforts.