India tunnel rescue: Officials expect 41 trapped workers to be freed in a day

THE ongoing operation to rescue 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand is expected to be completed by the end of Thursday (23).

Atul Karwal, director general (DG) of India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) confirmed it the same morning.

Speaking to Asian News International at the site, he said, "The auger machine has started operating again. We are estimating to send 2-3 pipes of 6 metres inside. Hopefully, by the end of the day, if we do not encounter any obstacles, the rescue operation will be completed..."

The workers have remained trapped for more than 11 days after a part of the under-construction tunnel meant to facilitate connections to some of north India's popular pilgrimage centres collapsed. The rescue operation has been hindered on a number of occasions due to malfunctioning equipment and obstacles found on the way while trying to reach the workers.

The rescue teams, that have reached food items and antidepressants to the workers through pipes and also brought out their video footage that gave comfort to their worried families, said the operation involves drilling through the debris to push wide pipes for the trapped people to walk out.

The auger machine, which drills through about 3 metres of debris in an hour, had earlier hit a metal obstruction.

"Our teams are ready, and I hope we will be able to rescue the workers soon," Karwal said earlier on Thursday.

Abhishek Ruhela, district magistrate of Uttarkashi, said on Thursday that the rescuers have drilled and considerably breached through the debris to reach closer to the trapped workers.

The rescuers, using an US auger machine, resumed drilling on Tuesday (21) and by late on Wednesday (22), drilled through 45 metres out of the 60-metre stretch of debris that blocked the Silkyara side of the collapsed tunnel.

According to the state government official, the rescue operation is at the final stage as the trapped workers are likely to be pulled out on Thursday.

Ambulances and hospital facilities were kept ready to cater to the workers once they were brought out.