Uttarkashi tunnel: Will trapped workers be rescued in 12-15 hours?

It’s the sixth day that 40 labourers remain trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarkashi, with officials slowly trying to find a way through debris and rescue them, as anguished family members and colleagues protested outside to demand faster action.

Forty workers have been trapped inside the 4.5 km long Silkyara-Barkot tunnel being built on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway since Sunday when a landslide caused a portion of the under-constructed tunnel to collapse. Communication had been cut off, leaving the men pondering if they would ever come out.

In the hours since then, rescue operation teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and others have worked tirelessly to establish communication lines, and provide the workers with food and oxygen to ensure they remain well.

The rescue teams have also brought in equipment from the Capital which will help in the operations of getting the trapped labourers out. And on Thursday, the new equipment sparked hope that the rescue would take place sooner than anticipated – may be in the next “12 to 15 hours”.

What exactly is the plan to get the workers out now? How long will it take? How are the labourers faring with being trapped inside the tunnel for so long?

We get you the answers.

New machinery, new plan

On Thursday, a new high-powered auger drilling machine reached the site of the accident after it was airlifted and began cutting through the layers of rock to make a passage for the workers to come out.

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The machinery was airlifted to the site after earlier attempts by a smaller drilling machine failed to do the job.

For the unaware, the auger is a rotating drill bit or tool that is helical in shape and is used to create holes or excavate material by removing it from the drilling surface. Authorities are moving ahead with their rescue plan – using the ‘trenchless’ technique in which a passage is being created with the help of 900 mm wide mild steel pipes that the workers can crawl through.

According to the Uttarkashi District Emergency Operation Centre, the digging with the new auger machine began around 10.30 am and at last report, it had drilled through 12 metres and was still going strong.

Officials said in the evening that a six-metre section of a steel pipe had been inserted into the bored passage. Another section was being welded into it.

And on Friday morning, news agency PTI reported that the machine had drilled up to 21 metres through the rubble.

Atul Karwal, the chief of NDRF, was quoted as telling NDTV that the auger drill was doing its job and they were hopeful that the labourers would be brought out within “12 to 15 hours”.

“The American Augur machine is at work and as per the last update, the first length of the pipe has been inserted through the ruble and they are welding the second section. At a theoretical speed of five metres an hour, we should be able to do it in the next 12 to 15 hours,” he told NDTV. He however, added that the situation at the spot is completely “unpredictable”.

The rescue team had earlier also consulted with the Thai team that had managed to rescue the 12 teens in Thailand’s Chiang Rai province in 2018. The junior footballers and their coach had got trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non, an under-water cave system in Chiang Rai province.

Officials said they were also in touch with engineering experts at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.

‘Won’t come out for another 2-3 days’

And while rescue officials were hopeful to retrieve the trapped labourers in the next 12-15 hours, the government had a more cautious view.

Union Minister of State for road transport and highways Gen VK Singh (retired), who visited the site, said it would be another two-three days before the labourers were rescued. “Keeping in view the ground situation, we could need two-three days more to complete the rescue operation. It may take less time but we must remember that it is only a machine that we have brought here.”

Singh added: “It could be that a part of it would break or develop a snag during the operation. However, we are bringing every possible component of the drill machine here so that any damaged part can be replaced immediately. We are also in touch with experts from across the world and working in close coordination with them.”

Anshu Manish Khalkho, Director, National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd, who is part of the rescue team, refused to provide a timeframe for the rescue, owing to the uncertainties around the operation.

Condition of the trapped labourers

Trapped for over 100 hours, the workers are safe and have been supplied with oxygen, food, water and medicines through the pipes that have been installed.

The workers have been communicating to the rescue team and according to the officials, their morale is high. And a few workers also got the opportunity to speak to family members who had rushed to the site after the accident. One of them was Indrajeet Kumar from Jharkhand whose brother was trapped inside.

“I reached here Tuesday evening worrying about the wellbeing of my brother. I was relieved to talk to my brother and another man from our state on Tuesday and Wednesday. They said they were all fine,” he told reporters.

However, doctors are worried about the duration they have been trapped in closed confines. Doctors have advised that the workers would need both physical and mental rehabilitation upon being rescued. Dr Archana Sharma, a consultant clinical psychologist at Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute, Delhi, told news agency PTI, “It’s a very traumatic event and their current mindset would be very apprehensive, filled with uncertainty about their future and their survival. They could be feeling fearful, helpless, traumatised and frozen in time. They might not be able to really process things.”

Dr Ajay Agarwal, director, Internal Medicine AT Fortis Hospital in Noida, also opined that the labourers could experience panic attacks because of being trapped in closed spaces for a long duration. “Further, the ambient conditions such as oxygen and carbon dioxide levels too could impact their physical health and prolonged exposure to cold underground temperatures could possibly cause hypothermia and make them fall unconscious,” he told PTI.

Earlier on Thursday, reports had stated that three or four trapped workers complained of mild headache and nausea.

Anticipating the worst, the rescue teams have also set up a six-bed makeshift health facility and stationed 10 ambulances with doctors outside the tunnel in order to provide immediate medical care to the workers once they are evacuated.

With inputs from agencies