On day 15 of the rescue operation, Army pitched in and vertical drilling picked pace

Rescuers have begun vertical drilling to reach the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel. Teams have set a target of drilling 86m in 100 hrs. Indian Army has stepped in to help. Rainfall predicted in the area may complicate the operation. Horizontal drilling from another point has moved 10m after 5th blast.

With horizontal drilling to reach the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel stuck for the third consecutive day, rescuers began vertical drilling above the tunnel, completing nearly 19.5 meters on November 26. The teams have set a target of vertically drilling through 86 metres of mountain in 100 hours, if there are no unexpected hurdles.

Briefing the media about the vertical drilling, as the rescue operation entered its 15th day, Additional Secretary (Technical, Road and Transport) Mahmood Ahmed said there could be a need to change the “needle” or head of the drilling machine after a point of time and necessary arrangements for the same are already in place.

Also read: Uttarkashi tunnel collapse LIVE updates on November 26, 2023

“We should not give targets any more but at the pace with which vertical drilling is going on, I can say we will complete it in 100 hours if no hurdle comes our way,” he added.

One of the rescuers told The Hindu that “the initial few metres will be easier to drill but it will be a challenge when the drilling machine hits the crust [outermost part] of the tunnel”. If this process is completed smoothly, the workers will be taken out in buckets through the vertical hole being bored, he said.

The attention of the authorities shifted to vertical boring when plans to restart the horizontal drilling process yet again failed, with workers struggling to retrieve the broken parts of American Auger machine, which is stuck amid the pipes since Friday night. When the machine is completely extricated, rescuers are likely to commence manual horizontal drilling to reach the workers, who are trapped behind 10-12 metres of debris.