According to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, every possibility considered to save the workers, and it could take an additional two or three days to complete the operation. Rescuers in Uttarkashi used a five-pronged strategy on Sunday to try to free 41 workers who trapped within a collapsed tunnel, but little progress made as the operation moved into its second week.
In order to access the top of the tunnel and drill a vertical hole from which to extract the workers, the rescuers were also chiseling away a track on the mountainside. According to officials, one pipe, dubbed a “lifeline” by the authorities, forced through the 65-meter-thick wall of rubble to deliver solid food to the stranded laborers. It had already descended to a depth of 40 meters.
After visiting the scene on Sunday to assess the situation, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari stated that every possibility considered to save the workers. “Saving the lives of the trapped personnel is our first concern. Since November 12, when a section of the 4.5 kilometer tunnel they building collapsed just 200 meters from the Silkyara entrance in the Uttarakhand district, the construction workers have stranded. The tunnel is a component of the heavily used Chardham all-weather road, a premier project that links several places of pilgrimage.
The rescue team is also exploring various options, such as drilling perpendicularly, vertically from the top of the tunnel, and from one end to the other on the Silkyara and Barkot sides. According to Jain, the organization in charge of tunnel construction, NHIDCL, would drill concurrently from the Silkyara end of the tunnel.
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