It's like we're there, knocking at front door: Tunnelling expert Arnold Dix on Uttarkashi rescue ops

UTTARKASHI: International tunnel expert Arnold Dix who is aiding in the rescue process of the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel on Thursday morning said the operation has progressed significantly and it seems they were "knocking at the front door."

"At the moment, it's like we are there at the front door and we are knocking on it. We know that the guys are there on the other side. I am going to have a look and see what is happening," Dix told reporters.

The international tunneling expert said on Thursday that his promise has always been to bring all 41 workers back home safely.

"At the moment, it's like we are there at the front door and we are knocking on it. We know that the guys are there on the other side where we can't get in so I am going to have a look and see what is happening," said Dix.

Meanwhile, Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Arpan Yaduvanshi said that 12 meters of drilling through the debris remains to reach the workers.

The workers are trapped behind roughly 60 meters of debris on the Silkyara side of the tunnel between Silyara and Barkot.

Rescuers had by Wednesday night managed to push through. Head of rescue team leading NHIDCL, Colonel Deepak Patil told ANI this morning that the work of laying down two pipelines is still left and their length is approximately 12 meters.

"Last night we got the information that a thick iron block had caused some problems in the drilling process. The block has been cut and if no further problems like this arise, then the remaining 12 meter of drilling will be finished soon and the rescue mission will also soon be completed," Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Arpan Yaduvanshi said.

He further said, "Our post-rescue action plan is ready. We will take the workers with a police escort and make sure that the best possible treatment is provided to them. I think they will be taken to Chinyalisaur and then if necessary to Rishikesh. Some VIP movements are going to take place. Union Minister General VK Singh (Retd) will also be coming."

Preparations to evacuate the 41 workers trapped in the Silkayara tunnel in Uttarkashi since November 12 are in the final stage, the Uttrakhand Chief Minister's Office said in a press release earlier.

Meanwhile, medical equipment reached the site as efforts to rescue 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi continued on the 12th day on Thursday.

According to officials, the workers are expected to be pulled out from the collapsed tunnel today.

The workers have been trapped since November 12, when the under-construction tunnel from Silkyara to Barkot got blocked due to debris falling in a 60-meter stretch on the Silkyara side.

The operation to rescue 41 workers trapped inside a Uttarakhand tunnel for the past 12 days is in its critical phase. As of midnight, rescue teams had said that about 10 metres of debris separated them from the trapped workers.

According to rescue teams, the operation involved drilling through the debris to push wide pipes for the trapped workers to walk out through. The auger machine, which drills through about 3 meters of debris in an hour, had earlier hit a metal obstruction.

A 41-bed hospital readied at the Community Health Centre in Chinyalisaur for medical examination and care of trapped workers after they are evacuated from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi.

Rescue workers said the workers would go through a detailed medical examination once they reached the hospital.