Vertical drilling of Uttarkashi tunnel begins to rescue 41 trapped workers; rescuers make 17-metre progress

UTTARKASHI: The vertical drilling to rescue the trapped workers in the Silkyara tunnel, which was halted earlier today, has been resumed and the rescuers have managed to make progress over a distance of 17 metres from the hill above the tunnel.

Former advisor to PMO, Bhaskar Khulbe said, "Vertical drilling is going on. 17-meter drilling has been done."

Due to some problems with the vertical drilling work on the upper part of the hill, the work was halted.

Vertical drilling, one of the several chalked-out options to bring out 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel, started on Sunday afternoon. Two locations were identified for the vertical drilling, and both are on the Silkyara side of the high-altitude under-construction tunnel, a portion of which caved in on November 12.

SJVN, a public sector undertaking company involved in hydroelectric power generation and transmission, has just started vertical drilling work on the top of the tunnel atop the hill, the 15th day of continued rescue efforts.

As a second option, vertical drilling work has also been started in another part on top of the tunnel to create rescue space for workers trapped. This portion of the tunnel has access to electricity and water.

Multiple agencies are working on the rescue efforts. In the latest, the Indian Air Force has also joined in as it flew critical DRDO equipment to Dehradun.

Also, as part of efforts to relieve the stress and anxiety of the workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has stepped in to provide them with a landline through which they can talk to their families.