As the sun set on Sunday, November 19, the mission to rescue 41 workers trapped in the Uttarakhand tunnel hit a brief pause. Rescue teams took a moment to regroup and prepare for the upcoming challenges. Let’s delve into the latest developments:
1) Workers hustled to create a road up the hill in just one day. The plan? Dig a vertical shaft into the tunnel to reach the trapped men, as per PTI reports.
2) The Tehri Hydroelectric Development Corporation was set to start “micro tunneling” from the Barkot end of the collapsed tunnel on the Char Dham route.
3) The digging at the Silkyara end hit a snag when a heavy-duty machine encountered a tough obstacle after 22 meters into the collapsed 60-meter stretch.
4) Rail Vikas Nigam Limited began work on a vertical pipeline for supplying essentials after finishing the approach road to the hill’s top.
5) A multi-pronged strategy is in play after the tunnel collapse last Sunday left workers stranded. They were unable to exit after their night shift.
6) An action plan with five options is underway, according to Road, Transport, and Highways Secretary Anurag Jain.
7) Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, after visiting the site, sees horizontal drilling with a massive auger machine as the best bet for a breakthrough in two and a half days.
8) Gadkari emphasized the top priority: saving the trapped workers. Preparations are on to restart the auger machine and resume drilling.
9) Gadkari, not a technical expert but offering insights, believes horizontal digging is the best option. If all goes well, the trapped workers might be reached in two and a half days.
10) Another machine from Indore is on standby. The upcoming vertical drilling equipment is too big for air transport and will be brought to the site by road.
