On Sunday (Nov 26), India’s military deployed specialized equipment in the ongoing efforts to rescue 41 trapped workers, now entering the third week. The Indian air force, displaying promptness, conducted its third airlift since the partial collapse of the Silkyara road tunnel under construction on Nov 12 in Uttarakhand’s Himalayan state.
Responding to challenges in the operation, rescue officials requested a superheated plasma cutter to be transported to the remote mountain location. This request arose as engineers, attempting to drive a metal pipe horizontally through 57m of rock and concrete, encountered obstacles in the form of buried metal girders and construction vehicles.
A giant earth-boring machine, positioned just 9m from breaking through, faced a setback. The plasma cutter is essential to remove the broken earth-boring drill and the metal obstructing the horizontal route. Following this, manual digging will resume.
Thick metal girders
Thick metal girders within the rubble are impeding progress, and using conventional oxyacetylene cutters from inside the confined pipe poses challenges. The air force specified that the “critical” equipment originated from the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the government’s defense technology research arm, without providing further details.
In addition to horizontal efforts, vertical drilling has commenced to excavate 89m downwards, a precarious path above the trapped workers in an already compromised area. Simultaneously, work has initiated from the far side of the road tunnel, constituting a third, considerably longer route spanning around 480m.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami demonstrated commitment by visiting the home of one of the trapped workers on Sunday. He updated the family on the ongoing rescue efforts, emphasizing the comprehensive force applied to ensure the safe extraction of all workers.
Notably, the trapped workers were first observed alive on Tuesday, peering into the lens of an endoscopic camera dispatched by rescuers through a thin pipe. This pipe serves as a conduit for delivering air, food, water, and electricity to the trapped individuals.
