Uttarkashi Tunnel Rescue Mission successful

Rescue agencies started efforts to save the workers. When one plan failed, work started on another. Sometimes attempts were made to rescue the workers by digging from the mouth of the tunnel and sometimes from the top of the mountain.

After 17 days, about 399 hours, from 5.30 am on 12th November to 8.35 pm on 28th November, the first laborer was taken out at 7.50 pm. Everyone was taken out after 45 minutes at 8.35 pm. The workers themselves crawled out (on their knees). Everyone was sent to the hospital by ambulance.

Rescue team member Harpal Singh said that the first break through was found at 7.05 pm. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami spoke to the workers who were thrown out. Union Minister VK Singh was also with him.

CM Dhami said- All the laborers will be given assistance of Rs 1 lakh each by the Uttarakhand government tomorrow. He will also be given one month paid leave, so that he can meet his family.

PM Modi also spoke to all the workers on phone. He expressed happiness over the workers coming out and greeted all the people involved in the rescue operation.

All workers are healthy
Naseem, a manual driller of rate snappers company Navyug, said – All the workers are healthy. I took a selfie with him. He told that when the last stone was removed, all the workers cheered.

Green corridor from tunnel to hospital
After the rescue, the workers were taken to Chinyalisaur, 30-35 KM away. A 41-bed special hospital has been built there. The road from the tunnel to Chinyalisad was declared a green corridor, so that the ambulance carrying the workers to the hospital after the rescue does not get stuck in traffic. It is a distance of about 30 to 35 kilometers. This was fixed in about 40 minutes.

Excavated 12 meters in 21 hours
Earlier, rat miners engaged in horizontal drilling from the Silkyara side, completed the excavation and came out of the pipe at 1.20 pm on the 17th day of the accident. He did 12 meters of manual drilling in about 21 hours. On November 24, the auger machine broke just 12 meters from the workers' location. Due to which the rescue had to be stopped.

After this the army and rat miners were called for the remaining drilling. At 11 am on Tuesday morning, happiness was visible on the faces of the family members of the workers when the officers asked them to keep their clothes and bags ready. Good news is coming soon.

How Rat Miners Worked in Uttarkashi Tunnel
Rat miners entered the 800mm pipe and did the drilling. They would go inside the pipe one by one, and then dig with a small shovel with the help of their hands. Around 2.5 quintals of debris would come out from the trolley at a time. Inside the pipe, all of them also had an oxygen mask for protection, special glasses to protect the eyes and a blower for air.

What is rat hole mining?
Rat means rat, hole means hole and mining means digging. The meaning is clear: to enter a hole and dig like a rat. In this, digging is started from the side of the mountain with a thin hole and after making a pole, it is slowly drilled with a small hand drilling machine and the debris is taken out by hand.

A process called rat hole mining has been commonly used in coal mining. Rat hole mining is rampant in Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and North East, but rat hole mining is a very dangerous work, hence it has been banned many times.

Tunnel experts said – the mountain taught us to be humble
International tunnel expert Arnold Dix said while talking to Dainik Bhaskar on Tuesday – The mountain has told us one thing, that is to remain humble. 41 men, home safe and then you report the most extraordinary thing. Dix pointed towards the success of the operation.

PM Modi took information about the rescue operation
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and took updates on the rescue operation. He said that along with the safety of the workers trapped inside, special care should also be taken for the safety of the people engaged in relief work outside. He said that the families of the workers trapped inside should not face any kind of problem.

This happened till now!

November 27: 13.9 meter long parts of the stuck auger machine were taken out from Silkyara side at 3 am. By late evening the head of the auger machine was also taken out from the debris. After this the rat miners started drilling manually. By 10 pm the pipe was also pushed forward by 0.9 meters. Also 36 meters of vertical drilling was done.

November 26: Vertical drilling started from the mountain top to rescue 41 laborers trapped in the Silkyara Tunnel of Uttarkashi. Excavation took place up to 20 meters till 11 pm. Under vertical drilling, a path is being made by making a big hole in the mountain from top to bottom. Officials said- If there is no hindrance, we will reach the workers in 100 hours i.e. 4 days.

November 25: Rescue work halted on Friday due to breakage of auger machine and remained halted on Saturday also. International tunneling expert Arnold Dix has said that now drilling will not be done with the auger, nor will any other machine be called.

Help of other options will be taken to evacuate the workers. Under Plan B, preparations are being made for vertical drilling from above the tunnel. NDMA says that about 86 meters of digging will have to be done to reach the workers.

November 24: When drilling work started in the morning, steel pipes came in the way of the auger machine, due to which the pipe got bent. The steel pipe and the bent part of the pipe being inserted into the tunnel were taken out. The auger machine was also damaged, it was also repaired.

After this, the auger machine was again inserted into the debris for drilling, but due to technical glitch the rescue team had to stop the operation. On the other hand, NDRF conducted a mock drill to evacuate the workers.

November 23: American auger drill machine had to be stopped three times. Late in the evening, due to strong vibration during drilling, the platform of the machine caved in. After this the drilling was stopped till the next morning. Earlier, drilling of 1.8 meters was done.

November 22: Success in sending breakfast, lunch and dinner to the workers. More than 15 meters of drilling was done by Silkyara with auger machine. In view of the workers coming out, 41 ambulances were called. A team of doctors was deployed near the tunnel. A 41 bed hospital was prepared in Chilyansaur.

November 21: The camera was sent inside through endoscopy and the picture of the trapped laborers emerged for the first time. He was also talked to. All the workers are fine. There was success in delivering food to the workers through a new 6-inch pipeline. Drilling started with auger machine.

Three rescue plans were announced by the central government. First- If there is no obstruction in front of the auger machine, rescue will take 2 to 3 days. Second- It will take 10-15 days to dig from the side of the tunnel and evacuate the workers. Third- It will take 35-40 days to dig the tunnel from Dandalgaon.

November 20: International tunneling expert Arnold Dix reached Uttarkashi and conducted survey and finalized 2 spots for vertical drilling. Success was achieved in laying a new 6-inch pipeline to provide food to the workers. A rescue tunnel was made for the rescue of the workers working with the auger machine. BRO completes road construction for vertical drilling near Silkyara.

November 19: In the morning, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Dhami reached Uttarkashi, took stock of the rescue operation and assured the families of the stranded people. Drilling started again from Silkyara End at 4 pm. Construction of another tunnel to deliver food began. A plan was made to send food or build a rescue tunnel by sending a small robot from where the debris had fallen in the tunnel.

November 18: Drilling work remained halted throughout the day. Workers trapped due to lack of food complained of weakness. PMO advisor Bhaskar Khulbe and Deputy Secretary Mangesh Ghildiyal reached Uttarkashi. Drilling was planned from five places.

November 17: The health of two laborers deteriorated in the morning. He was given medicine. At 12 noon, drilling stopped due to stones coming in the way of the heavy auger machine. 24 meter pipe was inserted inside the tunnel from the machine. The new auger machine reached Dehradun from Indore at night, which was sent to Uttarkashi. At night, the tunnel was cut from above and a survey was conducted to rescue the trapped people.

November 16: Installation of 200 horse power heavy American drilling machine Auger was completed. The rescue operation started again at 8 pm. 18 meter pipes were laid inside the tunnel at night. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a review meeting of the rescue operation.

November 15: After drilling for some time as part of the rescue operation, some parts of the auger machine got damaged. The workers' families clashed with the police outside the tunnel. They were angry over the delay in the rescue operation. After the intervention of the PMO, the Hercules aircraft of the Air Force from Delhi reached Chilyansaur helipad carrying the heavy auger machine. These parts got stuck in the plane itself, which could be taken out after three hours.

November 14: Due to continuous mudslide in the tunnel, experts from Norway and Thailand were consulted. Auger drilling machine and hydraulic jack were used. But due to continuous debris coming, a plan was made to take out the workers by laying 900 mm thick pipes i.e. about 35 inches. For this, help of auger drilling machine and hydraulic jack was taken, but these machines also failed.

November 13: By evening, the pipeline started being laid 25 meters deep inside the tunnel. The work had to be stopped after 20 meters due to debris coming in again. Oxygen, food and water started being continuously provided to the workers through pipes.

November 12: Debris started falling in the tunnel at 4 in the morning and by 5.30 the main a huge crowd gathered within 200 meters of the gate. Oxygen, medicine, food and water started being sent inside through the pipe laid to drain water from the tunnel. NDRF, ITBP and BRO were deployed in rescue operations. Debris up to 15 meters was removed with a 35 horse power auger machine.