Good news: After 17 days workers start coming out of Silkyara tunnel

Good news

After 17 days workers start coming out of Silkyara tunnel

PrashantNews (2000 hours)

After the 17 days long ordeal, the suspense-ridden rescue operation on Tuesday made a major breakthrough to reach the 41 trapped workers inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand. One by one all the 41 workers have now started coming out of the tunnel.

The rescuers using rat hole mining technique broke through the debris reaching the end part where the 41 workers are anxiously waiting since November 12 in the Silkyara tunnel.

Rat hole mining is an old and hazardous technique to remove coal deposits through narrow passages in India.

Focusing on the horizontal mining through Silkyara side, the rat mining technique started yielding good results soon after a team of top experts and workers slowly started removing the remaining debris. By this afternoon, a total of 57-60 meter long MS pipe escape passage was built which meant that the rescuers finally managed to reach where the workers were trapped.

The state-run power producer SJVN was also engaged in vertical drilling using all modern equipment to bore from the top of Silkyara tunnel side. A considerable length of 45 meter drilling has already been completed by Tuesday afternoon. The state run RVNL has started perpendicular drilling also to evacuate the trapped workers, an official statement said.

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who regularly monitored the operation, had earlier stated that the all options to reach 41 trapped workers inside the tunnel were being explored. “Our main priority is to bring all the trapped workers safely,” Dhami said.

On Friday, the auger machine which was drilling the debris was damaged after it hit some girder or steel rod. The machine was later withdrawn from the tunnel completely. Plasma cutters were brought to remove the remains of the auger machine inside the escape pipe. Once the remains were removed, rescuers used rat hole mining technique to evacuate the workers.

The workers were trapped on November 12 when a big portion of the 4.531 km long tunnel caved in. Initially, JCBs were used to remove debris. But when more debris fell, the authorities pressed auger machine to drill the debris to make escape passage for the trapped workers. But the auger machine on Friday developed some big fault and experts said it is now completely out of order. Ends