By Lynda Myer
In order to drawing out 40 workers trapped in a collapsed Himalayan road tunnel in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand, excavators have commenced drilling to fix a steel pipe.
Due to collapse of a section of the 4.5km Silkyara Barkot Tunnel, that being expanded for National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation (NHIDCL), on 12th November,workers have been trapped and are said that they are safe and have been supplied with food, water and oxygen.
Considering that the excavators have been removing debris, delivery of a 900mm diameter steel pipe to create an escape passage is the current step, as Reuters reports.
Additionally, in accordance with Devendra Singh Patwal, a disaster management official, responsibility of determining the cause of this accident is up to geologists from the state government and educational institutions.
According to ITA president Arnold Dix’s post on LinkedIn: “I had confirmation from the coordinator of the rescue operations that good progress was being made and the trapped workers were safe. I am reliably informed the rescue is being performed carefully with an anticipated rescue soon. I fully support the considered and careful efforts of the rescue mission – safely progressing these highly technical rescue operations is essential.”
He also added: “This area of the world is extremely geologically active – and the portals vulnerable to extreme landslide events. I endorse careful rescue operations in such extreme circumstances and personally have great confidence in these rescue efforts.”
The location of constructing Silkyara-Barkot Tunnel is between the towns of Silkyara and Dandalgaon.
