Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue: Drilling To Resume Today, After Yet Another Snag Delays Evacuation
The agonising wait of 41 families for the safe return of their loved ones entered the 13th day on Friday, and yet there is no clarity on when the trapped men will be evacuated.
It was widely expected, and many, including top officials monitoring the rescue, had said on Thursday that the operation was in its final phase and that it could be completed by the end of the day.
Why drilling was halted
However, the drilling activities at the Silkyara tunnel site were suspended on Thursday night after cracks appeared in the platform on which the drilling machine rests.
Drilling through the rubble is expected to resume Friday morning after the platform on which the drilling machine stands is stabilised by shotcreting.
"We have been able to fix the Auger machine strongly on its foundation. There were some obstacles on the mouth of the pipe, which we had to clear after cutting it. This is difficult work; hence it is taking time. I hope that the drilling work will begin again by 11-11.30 am. Ground penetration radar study has shown that there is no metallic obstruction in the next 5 metres," former advisor to the Prime Minister's Office, Bhaskar Khulbe, said.
What is next?
"Parsons Company had done the ground penetration radar, through which we got to know that for the next 5 meters, there is no metallic obstruction. This means that our drilling should be smooth. When we were taking out the debris, we got two mangled pipes..." Khulbe said, adding that the trapped worker may be evacuated by today.
When will the drilling resume?
According to officials, while the crack has been fixed, the rescue operation will resume after a Defence Research and Development Organisation team studies the situation.
"Today, the DRDO team will first try to see the situation beyond 48 meters (where the pipeline has been laid) through scanning with special equipment, which can probably be called a camera, before starting further drilling. The team will check whether there is no problem with drilling further," an official said.
He said that the machine used by the?DRDO?team will scan up to the next 20 meters to estimate the situation.
"The process of drilling will be started after the scanning report of DRDO," the official said.
When will the evacuation be completed
Rescue teams had managed to drill through up to a distance of 46.8 meters of the roughly 55 metres of debris behind which the workers had been trapped and insert pipes in the space cleared. According to the rescue plan, the trapped workers will have to crawl through the escape passage pipes to the mouth of the tunnel.
Officials said no specific timelines should be assumed; however, if all goes well and the rescue work does not face any obstruction, workers will be out by Saturday afternoon.
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