Uttarkashi: As Wednesday marked day 11 of the operation to rescue 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, the officials are 'hopeful' to rescue the victims at the earliest.
The collapse occurred on November 12 during the construction of the tunnel from Silkyara to Barkot, and the debris that fell in a 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel trapped 41 workers.
A National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) official said that on November 12, the tunnel caved in and that the other Barkot side of the tunnel was already closed, as work on that side had not yet started.
Sunita Hembram, the family member of a trapped worker, said that she had a conversation with her brother-in-law who is trapped in the tunnel and informed her about his well-being.
"I had a conversation with my brother-in-law who is trapped here. He is stable and healthy. The workers have received food, clothes and other items. Hopefully, they will be rescued by the morning tomorrow. The doctors also had a conversation with the trapped workers..." Sunita said.
Meanwhile, Additional Secretary Technical, Road and Transport Mahmood Ahmed said that the 'big news' is expected to be received tonight or tomorrow morning.
"If there are no obstacles, some big news may be received tonight or tomorrow morning. An iron rod has also come along with the debris. It is a matter of happiness that this iron in the middle of laying the pipeline did not create any problems for us..." Ahmed said.
He also said that an additional 800 mm pipe has also been pushed 21 metres inside the tunnel
"An additional 800 mm pipe has also been pushed 21 metres inside the tunnel. Around 12:45 am, we started drilling through the auger machine and so far, we have pushed three more pipes...As long as we reach 45-50 metres inside the tunnel, we will not be able to give you the exact time. We are also doing horizontal drilling, we have entered around 8 metres from there as well..." the official told the reporters.
L&T Safety Head, Nigel Wirtz said, "The current situation is that they are drilling a way....Hopefully, they are going to break through... It looks like it is going to happen.....We are also assisting with the micro-tunneling as well... The job has to be done correctly and in a systematic way."
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Second in Command Ravi S Badhani said that the rescuers are "very close" to the victims.
"The rescue operation is going really well. A good horizontal drill is happening... According to my knowledge, we are very close to victims now... It's difficult to give a time frame, but it's time-consuming... The situation of the trapped worker is fine. They were given the morning breakfast. Communication is well established. They are talking nicely to their family members. Their morale is high..." he said.
Former advisor to the Prime Minister's Office, Bhaskar Khulbe and Uttarkashi District Magistrate Abhishek Ruhela arrived at the Silkyara Tunnel site earlier in the day.
Vivek Srivastava, Commander 36 BRO said that the work on Barkot end will begin today. (ANI)
