By Vivek Dubey
CNBC-TV18.com
Published Nov 29, 2023
Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, collapses, trapping 41 workers. Rescue ops kick off immediately.
CM Pushkar Dhami visits. Communication established. Supplies sent through pipes. Excavation begins, hindered by falling debris.
Steel pipes and auger machine arrive for horizontal excavation. Drilling starts, aiming to create a crawlable passage.
American-made drilling equipment airlifted for faster progress. Efforts to speed up hindered by debris toughness.
Assembled equipment begins drilling at midnight. Progress: 24m through 57m rubble. Operation temporarily halted due to an obstacle.
Machine encounters obstacle, causing concern. Operation suspended. Another auger brought in. Crack sound prompts immediate stop.
Drilling halted. PMO officials and experts pursue five evacuation plans, including exploring vertical drilling.
Drilling remains halted. Minister Gadkari favours horizontal boring, anticipating breakthrough in 2.5 days.
Rescuers send meals through a pipeline to trapped workers, pushing through the rubble. Drilling yet to resume.
Endoscopic camera reveals trapped workers. First glimpse through the food pipeline pushed in on Nov 20.
First machine for vertical shaft construction reaches the tunnel. Three vertical shafts planned alongside tunnel rubble drilling.
Horizontal drilling nears completion but halted at 45m by iron rods. Late setback challenges the auger machine.
Morning clearance of iron rods. Progress resumes, reaching 48m before halting again due to platform cracks.
Drilling restarts but halts as machine encounters metal girder, leading to breakdown.
Tunnelling expert Arnold Dix suggests exploring alternatives. Consideration of vertical and manual drilling begins.
Drilling into hilltop starts above Silkyara-Barkot tunnel. Equipment bores down to 19.5m by evening.
“Rat miners” manually resume horizontal drilling through the existing pipe, extracting debris using hand tools.
Final debris cleared. All 41 workers successfully rescued. Breakthrough in the intense 17-day rescue operation.
Rescued workers admitted at a community health centre at Chinyalisaur after their successful evacuation.