Breakthrough in Silkyara Rescue op, 12-14 hours to reach trapped workers, Bhaskar Kulbe

In a significant development, the ongoing rescue efforts to save the 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara Tunnel collapse have entered a critical phase. Teams successfully removed steel rods that were impeding the path of the rescue pipes, marking a pivotal breakthrough in the operation.

Bhaskar Khulbe, former advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office, who is on-site at the Silkyara tunnel collapse, shared optimistic news on Thursday. “The entire steel structure obstructing the free movement of the pipe inside has now been removed,” he announced. The teams are striving to progress beyond the 45-meter mark they had reached, facing some challenges when an iron metal obstructed the drilling process the previous night.

“We had reached up to 45 meters; after that, a girder came in the way yesterday, that had been cut and removed. Now drilling work has started beyond 45 meters, and we hope that within 12 to 15 hours we will reach up to 60 meters,” Khulbe explained during a press interaction.

Rescue teams utilized an auger machine to drill through debris, creating space for wide pipes intended for the trapped workers to navigate through. However, a temporary setback occurred when the machine encountered a metal obstruction.

Union Minister General VK Singh (Retd) personally inspected the Silkyara tunnel site on Thursday, monitoring the progress of the ongoing rescue operation. The workers, trapped for 12 days following the tunnel collapse on November 12, have been the focus of a complex operation involving the insertion of pipes for them to walk through.

Welding experts from Delhi have joined the rescue mission, employing their skills to weld the mild steel wire of the pipes being inserted into the debris. Radhe Raman Dubey, a welder involved in the operation, explained, “We are here to weld MS pipe inside the tunnel…We’ll do it with the help of welding machines.”

Mild steel welding wire, known for its application in joining pieces of metal pipe, is crucial to ensuring the integrity of the rescue pipes. The plan is to pull the trapped workers through 900 mm pipes, inserted into the debris up to a distance of approximately 60 meters.

As per a state government official, the rescue operation is now in its final stages, with expectations that the trapped workers will be successfully pulled out today. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami is personally overseeing the last phases of the operation in Uttarkashi. The successful resolution of this rescue mission would mark a triumph for the collaborative efforts of rescue teams and specialists involved in this challenging operation.