India's federal government has set itself a deadline of another two to 15 days in which to rescue the 41 workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand.
“The American-made Auger drilling machine, which is already in action, is the best option right now and workers could be out within 2.5 days. The auger machine had come across a hard boulder on Friday afternoon, triggering vibrations that forced rescuers to put the operation on hold due to safety concerns,” Road Transport and Highways Secretary Anurag Jain told the media.
He further said that five other action plans are ready including horizontal boring to create an opening parallel to the tunnel but it could take 12-15 days.
Meanwhile, former advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office, Bhaskar Khulbe, told media that 39 metres of pipeline has been drilled.
“It is a matter of great pleasure for us that 39 metres of pipeline has been drilled from inside the horizontal pipeline tunnel. Everything is going good. I spoke to them, and everyone was in high spirits. Let us hope we will be able to achieve it,” he said.
He also said that the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have pushed in a communication channel for audio links and doctors are in constant touch with the trapped workers.
Updating about the status of the rescue operation, the official said that there are a lot of difficulties but if everything goes according to plan, we will be able to give good news by late night or tomorrow morning.
A portion of under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi collapsed on 12 November and 41 workers got trapped inside it. Various agencies along with international tunnelling expert Arnold Dix have been roped in for the rescue operation.
The workers are being supplied with food, water and medicines through steel pipes.