Two days since the auger machine used inside the Silkyara tunnel broke down, a plasma cutter has been flown in from Hyderabad to remove parts of the machine that are stuck inside the escape tunnel. The drilling has been on a standstill since Friday after the machine broke down.
Authorities had decided to begin manual drilling by Sunday, but for that to happen, a complete disengagement of the machine is necessary. While 33 metres of the auger machine's remains have been cut out, 14 metres remain inside the tunnel, which have to be removed using the plasma cutter.
After this, workers would enter the already bored 47-metre stretch of the rescue passage, drilling for a brief period in the confined space and then coming out to let someone else take over.
International tunneling expert Arnold Dix, who has been monitoring the operations, said removing the remains of the auger now will become easier with the plasma cutter. "The auger machine failed, and we are having a lot of technical difficulties in getting the auger out from the pipe. The process of cutting it out is going much faster this morning as plasma cutters have come. Brave men who are going in there in a pipe with plasma cutters and cutting it piece by piece, that's happening now," he said.
Micro tunnelling expert Chris Cooper too said that the process is getting faster. "We are still cutting the auger. We have 14 metres more of auger to cut. The plasma machine is beneficial as it will cut the steel faster," Cooper said.
Once the auger is completely out, the rescue team will assess the pipe and its condition.
Meanwhile, the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam has begun vertical drilling work on the top of the tunnel as a second option. However, authorities are considering the quicker of the two main options.
A unit of Madras Sappers, an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army, arrived at the site on Sunday to assist in the rescue operations. The Indian Air Force had put up a post on X that read, "Responding with alacrity to the requirements of the ongoing rescue operation, late last evening the IAF flew in critical DRDO equipment to Dehradun."