EBN- At least 40 workers are trapped inside the partially collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. The tunnel partially collapsed on 12 November.
A US-made auger machine arrived at the scene to drill. It pushed in pipes to save the developed snag, thereby halting the rescue process.
Around 2.45 pm on Friday, during the positioning of the fifth pipe, a loud cracking sound was heard in the tunnel after which the rescue operation was suspended, a statement issued by the NHIDCL late on Friday night said.
The 4531-metre Silkyara Tunnel is part of the Chardham Project of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and will link the Gangotri and Yamunotri axis under the Radi pass area.
The rescue team pushed in a six-inch wide tube up to 39 metres stretch into the rubble on Sunday. Successfull placement of the tube will ensure another route for sending food and water to the trapped workers.
The Road, Transport and Highways Secretary Anurag Jain on Sunday said that the government has undertaken a five-option action plan to rescue the workers trapped at Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, since November 12.
There is a high chance of further collapse in the vicinity of the tunnel, warned an expert involved in the rescue operation. Subsequently, the pipe-pushing activity stopped on Friday.
