Tunnel drama in India: boring machine keeps breaking down
In India, the fear for the 41 workers in a collapsed highway tunnel continues. In the meantime, the rescuers have worked their way very far through the rubble in the mountain with a powerful drilling machine, as an expert from Australia involved in the work told the Indian news agency ANI. However, the machine kept breaking down and had to be repaired.
"I don't know when they will come out. I don't know how they come out. But I know they're coming out," said Arnold Dix, President of the International Tunnelling and Underground Engineering Association. "And we're not going to hurt anyone in the process."
#WATCH | On Silkyara tunnel rescue operation, International Tunneling Expert, Arnold Dix says, "We are only just metres away from finding passage to have the men back. But the men are safe. The auger machine has broken down, it is being repaired and it should be back up tomorrow.… pic.twitter.com/dtX8JtdU61
— ANI (@ANI) November 23, 2023
The idea is to push wide tubes into the rubble for the men to get out through. They have been trapped for 13 days. Dix is convinced that the workers are not cold and that they will be supplied with food and medicine through narrow tubes.
The 4.5-kilometer-long freeway tunnel partially collapsed on 12 November after a landslide during construction work. The 41 workers are stuck 200 meters from the entrance behind huge masses of rubble. The site of the accident is near the small town of Uttarkashi in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.
The region is known for its many Hindu temples and is a popular pilgrimage and tourist destination. The tunnel was intended to improve transport links there.
The constant breakdowns of the drilling machine in the tunnel have caused delays in the rescue operation, potentially increasing the anxiety of the workers' families. Traffic in the area has been diverted due to the accident and subsequent rescue efforts, leading to congestion and potential accidents on alternative routes. In the event of any emergencies during the tunnel drama, well-equipped emergency response vehicles are stationed nearby, ready to intervene if needed.
Source: www.dpa.com
