Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse: Manual Drilling Likely After Auger Machine Damage

New Delhi: After the auger machine encountered multiple hurdles and broke inside the rescue pipes while drilling through the rubble, rescuers are now considering switching over to other options such as manual drilling at the Silkyara tunnel where 41 labourers have been trapped for the past 13 days, as per news agency PTI.

The heavy drill machine being used to break through the nearly 60 meters of debris was damaged on Friday and needs to be pulled out entirely, according to an official statement at 8 am this morning. The authorities working round the clock to evacuate 41 workers trapped in a partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi, brought out the damaged Auger machine this morning. The rest of the rescue operation, which entered its 14th day today will be completed through manual drilling.

The US-made Auger machine’s blades struck an obstacle again and sustained damage. It was removed from the pipeline for repairs. As only a few metres separate the trapped workers and the rescuers, it was decided to employ manual drilling. The heavy-duty drillers could be moved back 22 metres, reported ANI quoting an unnamed official. The remaining 6-9 metres of debris will be cleared manually.

“There are multiple ways. It’s not just one way… At the moment, everything is fine… You will not see the Augering anymore. Auger is finished. The auger (machine) has broken. It’s irreparable. No more work from auger. No more drilling from auger. There will not be a new auger,” said tunneling expert Arnold Dix.

A senior official told the news agency that frequent breakdowns in the Auger machine had been delaying the rescue of the trapped workers. The senior official said every time the machine hit an obstruction, it had to be pulled back 50 metres and pushed back after repairs. The entire process would set the rescuers back by 5-7 hours.

“While drilling with the US-made Auger machine, if we hit an obstruction every two to three feet, we have to remove it. And, every time we hit an obstruction, we have to roll Auger back 50 metres (up to which the pipeline has been laid). After running repairs, the machine has to be pushed back up to 50 metres, which takes about 5 to 7 hours. This is the reason why the rescue operation is taking longer than it should,” the official, who didn’t wish to be named, told ANI.

“The rescue team has now decided that the pipeline will now be extended further through manual drilling over small distances. Even if we hit an obstruction further up, the issue could be resolved manually and the pipeline could be extended further without losing out on precious time,” the official added.