Uttarkashi tunnel collapse: Manual drilling underway, tunnelling expert says things are 'looking positive'; top points

Manual horizontal drilling is still underway as of Tuesday morning at the Uttarakhand tunnel where 41 men have been trapped for more than two weeks. The work is being conducted by rat-hole mining experts who were called in on Monday and the process began yesterday evening.

At the same time, vertical drilling from above the tunnel has reached a depth of 42 metres out of the 86 metres needed, as on Tuesday morning. Rescuers hope to pull out workers through this one-metre-wide shaft when it breaks through the top of the tunnel below, hopefully by Thursday.

Earlier, the drilling was being carried out by a huge auger machine which got stuck in the rubble on Friday, forcing officials to focus on an alternative option -- drilling down from above the tunnel.

Uttarkashi tunnel rescue: Latest developments

1. On Monday, a team of rat-hole mining experts began manual drilling through the rubble to rescue the 41 trapped workers. According to reports, about 12 rat-hole mining experts are involved in manual drilling and excavation horizontally through the last 10- or 12-metre stretch of debris of the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel on Uttarakhand's Char Dham route.

Rat-hole mining is a controversial and hazardous procedure in which miners in small groups go down narrow burrows to excavate small quantities of coal.

2. For the horizontal through-the-rubble option, officials decided that the final stretch would be handled through a manual approach in which individual workers will go into the escape passage with drills, as well as gas-cutters to tackle obstacles like iron girders. By Monday evening, the last bit of the stuck auger had been cut out piece by piece and a steel pipe inserted further into the partially complete escape passage.

3. Regarding the rescue operations, micro tunnelling expert Chris Cooper on Tuesday told ANI, "It went very well last night. We have crossed 50 metres. It's now about 5-6 metres to go...We didn't have any obstacles last night. It is looking very positive..."

4. Principal Secretary to Prime Minister P K Mishra, Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla and Uttarakhand Chief Secretary S S Sandhu came to Silkyara on Monday to take stock of the operation. Mishra spoke to the trapped workers, assuring them that multiple agencies were at work to evacuate them and they should remain patient.

5. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) member Lt Gen (retd) Syed Ata Hasnain said that the workers are in very good health. He said it was difficult to give a timeline for the manual operation at this stage.

6. The NDMA member said a yellow alert has been issued by the meteorological department indicating light rains. "But there is no possibility that work will be hindered because of this," he added. He said Mishra has directed officials to ensure all medical facilities for the trapped workers as "difficulties could increase with the passage of time".

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