Uttarkashi Rescue Ops: Plasma Cutter Flown In Speed Up Process, Remove Debris

The drilling to rescue the workers stuck inside the Silkyara tunnel came to a halt due to the Auger Machine's blades being stuck in the rubble. A plasma cutter has been flown now.

After the dilling in Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel came to a halt due to parts of the Auger machine being stuck in the rubble, a plasma cutter has now been flown from Hyderabad to cut and remove those parts to continue the rescue operations for 41 men who have been stranded inside for the past 14 days. A complete disengagement of the machine is necessary for the officials to continue their rescue work which involves pushing the pipes through the rubble manually in order to create an escape passage. A unit of Madras Sappers, an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army, arrived at the rescue site on Sunday in order to assist in the rescue operations, as reported by news agency PTI.

Blades of the auger machine got stuck in the debris on Friday night which forced the concerned officials to consider switching to alternative options that could drag the rescue operation by several days, or even weeks.

Speaking to ANI on Sunday, Cooper elaborated on the efficiency of the plasma-cutting machine flown in from Hyderabad to expedite the process.

"We are still in the process of removing the Auger (driller) from inside the tunnel. The plasma machine will help us in this task as it will cut through the steel (blades stuck in the rubble) faster. The plasma machine cuts the steel much faster," Cooper told ANI.

When asked how long could it take to to remove the blades and the machine from the debris, he said, "We do not know. It depends. Sometimes we get smaller pieces out. Sometimes we get bigger pieces out."

On the 14th day of the rescue mission, officials shifted focus to two alternatives i.e., manual drilling through the remaining 10- or 12-metre stretch of the rubble or, drilling down 86 metres from above (which is more likely to happen), PTI reported.

A part of the drill machine has already been sent up the hill right above the tunnel to carry out vertical drilling.

The rescue efforts began on November 12 when a portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route collapsed due to a landslide and blocked off the exit for the workers who were working inside. The workers are in a built-up two-kilometre stretch of the tunnel and they are being sent food, medicines and other essentials via a six-inch wide pipe, as reported by PTI.