The rescue operation to bring out 41 workers trapped inside an under-construction tunnel in Uttarakhand has faced another setback with the the augur drilling machine getting stuck inside the rubble.
"Augering is finished...the auger is broken, destructed," tunnelling expert Arnold Dix told reporters on Saturday.
Dix said they were looking at multiple options to rescue the labourers who have been trapped for the last 13 days after a portion of the tunnel being built between Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi district collapsed in the early morning on November 12.
“The mountain has again resisted the auger, so we are rethinking our approach...I am confident that the 41 men are coming home by Christmas...I have always promised that the workers will be home by Christmas,” Dix was quoted as saying by ANI.
Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said manual drilling will begin on Sunday.
The CM informed that a specialised machine from Hyderabad has been summoned to cut the augur machine that has been trapped inside.
"Everyone is working- from the central government to the state government and all the agencies. Everyone is putting in their full efforts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is concerned about the situation and the condition of the workers. We are hoping that the operation is completed as soon as possible…,” Dhami said.
According to an ANI report, manual drillers will cut through the rubble after the heavy machine is removed from the pipeline. Meanwhile, experts are also exploring the option of vertical drilling.
As of Friday, before the operations were halted, the augur machine had drilled up to 46.8 metres into the collapsed portion of the tunnel which is estimated to be 60 metres.
