In a desperate fight to beat the ticking clock, officials have began preparations to drill a vertical hole from the top of the hill under which 41 workers have been trapped inside a collapsed tunnel for seven days with limited food and communication.
As the sun slipped behind the mountains and night fell on another day gone by, officials held out the hope that the Border Roads Organisations (BRO) road to create an alternative route to the under-construction Silkyara tunnel would be ready by Sunday afternoon and the rescue mission that had been stalled since Friday could finally resume.
Bhaskar Khulbe, former advisor to the prime minister and now OSD in the Uttarakhand government, said in Silkyara that concerted efforts would produce good results in four-five days. “But if the gods are kind enough, it could happen even earlier than that,” he said.
Meanwhile . Chris Cooper, a micro tunnelling expert arrived at the Silkyara tunnel incident site to monitor the rescue operation.
Chris Cooper is a Chartered Engineer with an experienced track record for delivery of Major International key civil engineering infrastructure, Metro tunnels, Large Caverns, Dams, Railway, and Mining Projects. Cooper who is also a consultant for the Rishikesh Karnprayag rail project has reached the site to monitor the rescue operation of 40 workers trapped inside the tunnel for six days now.
Speaking to ANI, Cooper said “I don’t have any information as of now. I reached here last night only.”
The heavy-duty drilling machine from Indore has also reached the Silkyara tunnel site.
Bhaskar Khulbe, former Advisor, PMO and Mangesh Ghildiyal, Deputy Secretary PMO also arrived at Silkyara tunnel to monitor the situation.
