Silkyara Tunnel Crash: Auger machine fails again; experts stop providing rescue deadline
Silkyara tunnel rescue operation may take more time than expected, as the US-made auger machine used for cutting horizontally through the debris has broken down.
The focus now is on vertical and manual drilling.
«It will take time,» NDMA member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain told the media, briefing on the progress of the operation to bring out the workers trapped in the tunnel. Everything has to be done with utmost care, he said.
Vertical drilling may start in the «next 24 to 36 hours» as machines are being placed on a platform on top of the tunnel, he said.
About 86 meters of vertical drilling is needed to reach the crust of the tunnel, and thereafter it will be broken to reach the trapped workers, he explained.
A very difficult operation is going on, Hasnain said.
Two methods are being used currently, but a third method, which is drift method, could also be used soon, he said.
Authorities had earlier been focusing on horizontal drilling with the auger machine to cut through about 60 meters of debris to reach the trapped workers. So far, 47 meters of horizontal drilling has been completed, Hasnain said.
The broken part of the auger machine has to be removed, and the drilled structure has to be kept stable.
