Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Efforts continue to evacuate 40 trapped workers
Dehradun: While rescue operations to save the lives of the trapped workers inside the under-construction Silkair-Pulgaon Tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway 94 are underway, the Pushkar Singh Dhami government has ordered an investigation into the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse. A technical committee headed by the director of the Uttarakhand Landslide Mitigation and Management Centre (ULMMC) and comprising experts from other specialised agencies will probe the cause of the tunnel collapse.
According to the probe order, the technical committee will investigate the causes of the tunnel collapse and have to submit its report at the earliest possible time.
Besides the ULMMC, the probe committee will also have experts from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, the Central Building Research Institute Roorkee and the Geological Survey of India.
Experts from the state department of geology and mining and the state's disaster management authority are already investigating the tunnel collapse site. Also, specialists from other agencies and government bodies have also reached the accident site to study the reasons for the landslide and collapse of the tunnel, for which digging has been completed for almost 3.9 km. The total length of the tunnel is nearly 4.5 km.
Meanwhile, following consultation with the experts, fresh efforts began on Tuesday morning to drill through rubble to create an escape passage for about 40 workers trapped inside. Heavy machines, including horizontal and vertical drilling machines and shotcrete machines, were brought in to create an escape passage, removing debris from the way.
Special launch pads were created for these machines to push through 900-mm-diameter sections of mild steel pipes into the debris. Pipes were brought in last night following suggestions from the experts. However, officials present on the ground maintain that since the debris is loose and unstable, it's causing difficulties in drilling.
State disaster management department secretary Ranjeet Sinha claimed that the under-construction Uttarkashi tunnel collapsed mainly because it is a landslide area and is made up of soft rocks. Treatment for the same will be done later. At present, the priority is to rescue people safely.
Uttarkashi district magistrate Abhishek Ruhela said that since auger machines have arrived, horizontal drilling will be taken up soon to create an escape passage for the trapped workers.
According to state government officials, the workers are safe and being provided with oxygen, water, food packets and medicines through tubes.
The rescue team officials are also trying to maintain communication with the trapped workers to keep their confidence high.
