Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: Rescuers Just 12 Meters Away From Trapped Workers, 45 Meters Drilling Complete

In Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi, the rescuers are just hours away from the 41 trapped workers. According to officials, so far, 45 meters of drilling and laying of pipers have been completed and the trapped workers are likely at a distance of just 12 meters. Amid this good news, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami left for the Silkyara tunnel site. At night, the Chief Minister will take stock of the ongoing relief and rescue work in the Silkyara Tunnel located on the Uttarkashi-Yamnotri road. The rescuers are likely to get a breakthrough tonight or early morning tomorrow.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have also entered the Silkyara tunnel and the rescue operations have intensified at the site with around 30 ambulances at the spot to cater to emergency services if needed.

This comes a sigh of relief for 41 construction workers who have been trapped inside the underconstruction tunnel due to landslide debris that blocked the exit on November 12. According to officials, around 60 meters of debris is at the site of which drilling till 45 meters has been completed. 15 of the 41 workers stranded are from Jharkhand and the state government has planned to airlift all of them to Ranchi from Dehradun. 

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Uttarakhand Secretary and Nodal Officer for Silkayara rescue operation Neeraj Khairwal said that around 45 meters of drilling has been completed with the auger machine today.  

As the rescue operations have intensified at the Silkyara tunnel, former advisor to the Prime Minister's Office, Bhaskar Khulbe said that work for the next phase will start around 7pm. "I am very happy to tell you that with the work we were doing for the last 1 hour, we have drilled another 6-meter length with an American Oger machine. I am hopeful that in the next 2 hours, work will start for the next phase," he said.