"Everyone has been trying, hope that work is completed at earliest": U'khand CM on rescue op at Silkyara tunnel
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday said that the efforts to evacuate 41 trapped workers inside the Silkyara tunnel are going on and the rescue operation is expected to be completed at the earliest.
Speaking to on Monday, CM Dhami informed that the auger machine that got stuck in the debris has been taken out completely.
«Everyone has been trying. The auger machine has been taken out completely...Drilling and pushing work will start and we hope that the work is completed at the earliest,» CM Dhami said.
He further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been seeking information about the ongoing rescue operation on a daily basis since it was launched.
«PM Modi is seeking all important information.
The National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force, Indian Air Force and Indian Army are cooperating and contributing...» he added.
After a portion of the tunnel caved in on November 12, the debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel trapped 41 labourers inside the under-construction structure.
The augur machine that was stuck, halting the process of rescue operations, was cut by the plasma cutter, specially requisitioned and flown in from Hyderabad.
The 1-2 meter damaged part of the 1.2-meter-diameter pipeline laid through horizontal drilling is now being removed by rat miners through manual drilling. Indian Army's Madras Sappers Unit from the Corps of Engineers has been roped in to aid in the rescue operation.
