Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: 41 Trapped Workers, 12 Days, 5 Rescue Plans, 3 Obstacles | A Lookback
On Day 12, likely to be the final day of the rescue work, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to the 41 workers trapped inside and told them that rescuers are now very close to them
Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami visited the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district on Thursday and spoke to the 41 construction workers trapped inside the collapsed part for 12 days now. He told them that rescuers are now very close to them.
“We have come to around 45 metres (through the rubble). We are very close to you now," the chief minister said as the rescue and relief operation entered Day 12, and the final stretch.
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Dhami asked two labourers — Gabbar Singh Negi and Saba Ahmad — about the condition of the workers and praised the duo for keeping up their morale. He said all agencies are working hard to ensure that they are safely evacuated as soon as possible.
The CM also told the labourers that Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with him every morning for updates. He said their families have been contacted and assured of their well-being.
The rescue operations resumed in the morning after an overnight hurdle delayed the drilling by several hours. Former adviser to the prime minister’s office (PMO) Bhaskar Khulbe, who was at the site, said an iron mesh had come in the path of the drilling machine and was removed.
The drilling, however, was held up by six hours, dampening the previous evening’s enthusiasm over an imminent rescue. Removing the mesh in a claustrophobic environment inside the pipe was difficult and the problem was compounded by the lack of oxygen, Khulbe said. He said if no other obstruction is encountered during drilling, the operation will likely get over by night.
International tunnelling expert Arnold Dicks, who is present at the site, said, “It seems we have reached the door and knocking at it. We know people are at the other side of the door. I will go in and see what is happening."
Uttarkashi SP Arpan Yaduvanshi said the post-rescue plan is ready to provide immediate medical care to the evacuated workers. “When the workers come out, they will be taken via the green corridor under police escort in ambulances to Chinyalisaur CHC where all facilities have been created for them," he said.
Here is looking back at the 11 days after the workers got trapped inside the tunnel on November 12, when a portion of the structure collapsed due to a landslide:
Day 11, November 22
Ambulances are put on standby and a special ward at a local health centre is readied in the evening. In a late evening development, drilling of steel pipes through the rubble hits a hurdle when some iron rods come in the way of the auger machine. Till 6 pm, up to 44 metres of an escape pipe have been inserted into the debris of the collapsed stretch. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is spotted entering the tunnel in the evening. A team of 15 doctors, including chest specialists, is deployed in anticipation of the evacuation. Relatives of workers who have spoken to them through a new six-inch pipeline express optimism. “Today, we were taken inside the tunnel and we spoke to our family member. Sonu repeatedly told me not to worry now and that we would meet soon," said Devashish, whose brother-in-law is among the 41 workers. “We called him on Diwali but could not reach him. His colleagues told us that his mobile phone was damaged. Later, we saw his name in the newspaper and learnt that he was trapped inside the tunnel," he added. The second lifeline is being used to ensure an ample supply of food items like rotis, sabzi, khichdi, daliya, oranges, and bananas in the tunnel.
Day 10, November 21
The first visuals of the 41 workers trapped inside emerge. According to officials, focus remains on digging horizontally through the debris of the collapsed stretch but rescue workers continue to prepare for other options, including drilling from above the tunnel to reach the workers. At the disaster site, a video clip captured by an endoscopic camera sent in through a new six-inch wide pipeline brings some hope to relatives camping there for days. The pipeline was pushed late on November 20 through 53 metres of debris – the collapsed stretch. In the video, workers wearing yellow and white helmets are seen receiving food items sent to them through the pipeline and talking to each other. Officials watching them on a screen are heard giving instructions, asking them to clean the lens. The workers are told to come near the camera and use walkie-talkies, apparently sent down earlier. The camera is then pulled back up so that water can be released under pressure to clean the pipeline.
Day 9, November 20
Rescuers push a six-inch-wide pipeline through the rubble, the “first breakthrough" at the site to help supply larger quantities of food and possibly allow live visuals. A four-inch existing tube was being used to supply oxygen and items like dry fruit and medicines. Drones and robots from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are brought to the site to look into the possibility of other escape routes. The first machine for construction of a vertical rescue shaft, possibly around 80-metre deep by drilling from near the hilltop, also reaches the tunnel. A road to the hilltop is laid, and the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) arranges for more equipment. Also, work starts on drilling from the other side, the Barkot-end, of the tunnel. International tunnelling expert Arnold Dicks also reaches the disaster site to conduct a review. The pipeline development comes on the day Prime Minister Modi called up the CM to take stock of the rescue operation.
Day 8, November 19
Rescue work is put on hold as the agencies involved in the effort set themselves up for the next stage – adopting multiple approaches to reach the 41 trapped men inside. A road to the top of the hill is laid in a single day for digging a vertical shaft down into the tunnel.
Day 7, November 18
Drilling does not resume on Saturday as experts feel that the vibrations created by the diesel-driven 1,750-horse power heavy-duty American auger inside the tunnel might cause more debris to collapse, posing a risk to the lives of the rescue personnel. Alternative options are explored by a team from the PMO and experts who decide to work on five evacuation plans simultaneously, including vertical drilling through the top of the tunnel to rescue the trapped labourers.
Day 6, November 17
Working overnight, the machine drills about 24 metres through the rubble by the afternoon and four MS pipes with a length of six metres each are inserted. The process comes to a halt when the fifth pipe hits an obstacle. Damage to the machine is also reported. Yet another high-performance auger machine is flown down from Indore to assist in the rescue efforts following a request from the NHIDCL. In the evening, the NHIDCL reports that around 2.45 pm, during the positioning of the fifth pipe, a big cracking sound was heard in the tunnel and the rescue operation suspended immediately. The sound creates panic among the rescue team members. An expert involved in the project warns about the possibility of further collapse in the vicinity. Subsequently, the drilling and pipe-pushing activity is stopped.
Day 5, November 16
The high-performance drilling machine is assembled and installed. It starts working past midnight.
Day 4, November 15
Dissatisfied with the performance of the first drilling machine, the NHIDCL asks for a state-of-the-art American auger machine, which is airlifted from Delhi to speed up the rescue efforts.
Day 3, November 14
Steel pipes of a diameter of 800 and 900 mm are brought to the tunnel site to be inserted through the rubble with the help of an auger machine for horizontal digging. However, the efforts suffer a setback when more rubble falls from the cavity created by the cave-in and causes minor injuries to two labourers. A team of experts begins a survey of the tunnel and surrounding areas for soil testing. The trapped workers are supplied food, water, oxygen, electricity and medicines as some of them complain of nausea and headache.
Day 2, November 13
Contact is established with the trapped workers through a pipe meant to supply oxygen to them and they are reported to be safe. Rescue efforts continue as Dhami visits the site. Not much progress is made in removing the debris accumulated on the collapsed part of the tunnel as fresh rubble keeps falling from above, further complicating the task of the rescuers. As a result, the debris accumulated in an area of around 30 metres spreads to 60 metres. A strategy is devised to stabilise the loose soil inside the tunnel applying the method of shotcreting (spraying concrete) and then insert large-diameter steel pipes through the rubble to prepare an escape passage.
Day 1, November 12
The labourers get trapped as portions of the under-construction tunnel on the Brahmkhal-Yamunotri highway collapse following a landslide around 5.30 am on the day of Diwali. Rescue efforts are launched by the district administration and arrangements made to supply oxygen, electricity and eatables to the trapped labourers through air-compressed pipes. Multiple agencies, including the NDRF, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), Border Roads Organisation (BRO), project executing agency NHIDCL and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), join the rescue efforts.
(With PTI inputs)
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