In last leg, tunnel rescue faces setback: Drill breaks, halts operations

Now, according to officials, they need to manually cut the auger blades and clear the pipes, which could take a while.

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A key challenge in cutting the blades inside an enclosed space is the heat that is generated, making it difficult for rescuers to work at a long stretch.

According to a bulletin released on Saturday morning, the auger was being pulled back after a new obstruction was observed at the mouth of the pipes. After it was pulled back roughly 15 metres (out of the roughly 45 metres of the length of the pipe), “the auger joint got broken”. “Efforts are ongoing to pull back the rest of the 32 metre auger left inside the pipe. Manual cutting of auger blades has been started inside the pipe to pull out the augers,” read the bulletin.

It is only after this obstruction is removed can the process resume.

Addressing a press conference after visiting the site, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the drilling would begin on Sunday once the auger that got stuck is manually cut and taken out.

“The rescue has been going on in challenging circumstances and we were very close (to reaching the men) when the machine got stuck after hitting metal girders or steel rods… We are expecting the machine to be removed completely by Sunday morning,” he said.

“We have also called for a plasma cutter from Hyderabad. It is expected to reach the tunnel site by tonight, and will increase the speed of cutting the machine. Currently, we have been able to cut the stuck auger just around 1.5 metres in an hour. With the plasma cutter, we can cut it around 4 metres in an hour. Once it is done, we will begin the drilling,” he said.

Dhami did not give a specific time frame in which the drilling could end.

“I spoke to some of the trapped labourers and everyone’s morale is high. They are not scared and themselves asked us to take them out safely no matter how many days it takes,” he said, adding that all possible efforts are being taken by the state and central governments.

On the question of the tunnel not having an escape passage, he said the primary focus at the moment is to get the men out.

In Delhi, National Disaster Management Authority member Lt General (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said during a briefing, “There is not much progress through the auger route. It has been halted. Once the remaining parts of the auger are taken out, then manually digging will be done. After that, auger machine will be used to push pipes.”

He said “it will take time” to bring out the trapped workers as everything has to be done with utmost care. The focus is now on vertical drilling and the operations may start in the “next 24 to 36 hours” as machines are being placed on a platform on top of the tunnel, he said.

About 86 meters of vertical drilling is needed to reach the crust of the tunnel, and thereafter it will be broken to reach the trapped workers, he said. “This operation is becoming more complex technically. Earlier, there were no such complexities,” he said.

Inputs by Harikishan Sharma