Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: Machine failures plague tunnel rescue

The blades of the auger machine drilling through the rubble of the collapsed Silkyara tunnel were on Saturday stuck in the debris forcing officials to consider switching to options that could drag on the rescue of 41 trapped workers by several days even weeksOn day 14 of the multiagency rescue mission officials shifted focus to two alternativesmdash manual drilling through the remaining 10 to 12 metre stretch of the rubble or more likely drilling down 86 metres from above ldquoThis operation could take a long timerdquo National Disaster Management Authority NDMA member Lt Gen retd Syed Ata Hasnain said at his media briefingAt the disaster site international tunnelling expert Arnold Dix repeated his promise of getting the workers out ldquoby Christmasrdquo which is a month away Manual drilling would involve individual workers entering the already bored 47metre stretch of the rescue passage drilling for a brief period in the confined space and then coming out to let someone else take overThis according to Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami could begin as soon as the equipment stuck in the planned escape passage is brought outHeavy vertical drilling equipment already brought toSilkyara was on Saturday moved up a oneanda halfkilometre hill road constructed in a couple of days by the Border Road OrganisationThe vertical drilling would begin in the ldquonext 24 to 36rdquo hours Hasnain said He indicated that this was quicker of the two main options now being considered Drilling through the Silkyara rubble was at standstill for almost the entire day Friday But the extent of the problem was known Saturday when international expert Dix told reporters that the auger machine was ldquobustedrdquoAlso read Drilling at Silkyara tunnel halted operation to evacuate workers hit againldquoThe drilling augering has stopped Itrsquos too much for the auger itrsquos not going to do anything morerdquo he said ldquoThe mountain has again resisted the auger so we are rethinking our approach I am confident that the 41 men are coming homerdquo he said insisting that they remained safe When pressed to spell out a timeline Dix said ldquoI have always promised that they will be home by Christmasrdquo The 25tonne drilling machine now out of commission includes an auger a giant corkscrewlike device with a cutter at its endVillagers offer prayer to pacify local deityWith repeated obstructions impeding the Silkyara tunnel rescue operation residents of nearby villages are praying to the local deity Baba Boukhnag for the early release of the 41 workers trapped inside Many local residents said they offer prayers daily for the wellbeing and safe rescue of the workers Rajesh Rawat a resident of Bhramkhaal village about 10 km from the tunnel said he and his family members are praying to Baba Boukhnag dailyLocals worship deity lsquoBoukhnagrsquo as they believe that the removal of the temple to make way for the infra project has angered the god PicPTIRawat who owns a homestay in his village said the local residents have huge faith in Baba Bhoukhnag and the workers will come out soon with his blessingsAccording to local residents Boukhnag deity is considered the protector of the area Rajender Singh who runs a roadside eatery at Silkyara village said that apart from offering prayers for the wellbeing of the trapped workers everyone in his village tries to help the rescue personnel working at the site day and nightAfter initial efforts to rescue the trapped workers failed temple priest Ganesh Prasad Bijalwan had earlier said company officials called him and requested him to perform a special pujaThe priest had then said ldquoUttarakhand is the land of gods There is a tradition of building a small temple for the local deity before building any bridge road or tunnel The work is completed only after taking their blessingsrdquo Local residents said there will be a lsquomelarsquo near the tunnel on Sunday