Who Is Arnold Dix, The Australian Underground Expert Involved In Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue?
14 construction workers have been trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel since November 12. Arnold Dix is the President of International Tunnelling Underground Space. He came to India on November 20 and has been camping at the site ever since.
A massive operation involving hundreds of men from various agencies is still underway in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, to rescue the 41 construction workers who have been trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel since November 12.
Among those leading the unprecedented scale operation is an Australian man - Arnold Dix.
BCCL
Who is Arnold Dix?
He came to India on November 20 and has been camping at the Silkyara tunnel site ever since.
Dix is the President of International Tunnelling Underground Space and a world-renowned expert in the field.
The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association is a Switzerland-based organisation with 79 member countries.
AFP
Dix is an Adjunct professor of engineering at Queensland University of Technology, and he also practices law.
What is Arnold Dix's expertise?
Professor Dix specialises in underground and transportation infrastructure - from construction risk to more technical issues associated with actual safety performance from an operational safety perspective. He also advises on risks related to underground construction and is widely recognised as the World's leading expert on underground tunnelling.
His nearly three decades of experience in the field have been crucial in the tumultuous rescue mission that has suffered one setback after the other in the past twelve days.
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What Arnold Dix said about the rescue
Dix told AFP while it was "not nice" that the men were trapped, the fact they were safe was a "gift."
"Normally, when I am responding to a rescue, there is some flooding, or we're running out of oxygen, or something terrible is happening," he said, noting the areas where the men were stable.
Dix also acknowledged that the machine was facing "some difficulties" and added that it has not been designed to be put through this level of stress.
How confident is Arnold Dix?
He said he couldn't set a timeline but was certain that the rescue effort will be successful, with several Indian agencies coordinating well in the effort. Dix also warned against rushing as it might "complicate" things.
AFP
"Since the trapped workers on the other side of the rubble are safe and fit, not rushing has enormous value because if we rush in a situation like this, we might create problems we cannot imagine," he said.
On Thursday, Dix said that his promise has always been to bring all 41 workers back home safe and that the operation has progressed significantly, and it seems they were "knocking at the front door."
"At the moment, it's like we are there at the front door and we are knocking on it," Dix had said.
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Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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