How Rescue Teams Will Prep Trapped Workers Before They Crawl Out: 10 Facts

According to rescue teams, the operation involves drilling through the debris to push wide pipes for the trapped workers to crawl out through. The auger machine, which drills through about 3 metres of debris in an hour, hit a metal obstruction early this morning. A metal cutter was then used to remove the block and the operation resumed.

Bhaskar Khulbe, former advisor to the Prime Minister, is at the site to oversee the challenging rescue operation. He said an iron mesh had blocked the path of the drilling machine. Around 10 am, he said it may take up to 14 hours before the drilling ends. Add to that the time taken to eventually get the workers out.

As the auger machine drills through, pipes are being pushed through the debris. Once a pipe is all in, another is welded to it. In this manner, an escape route is being prepped for the trapped workers out of their long confinement. Welders have been flown in from Delhi to put together the final stretch of the pipe. They will get to work once the drilling ends.

But creating the exit is not enough. The 41 workers have been trapped for 12 days now. During this time, they have received only a couple of proper meals after rescue teams managed to push a six-inch pipe through the debris. The physical suffering has only been compounded by despair and uncertainty over when they will be rescued.

Even crawling out is not going to be without risks. The pipes are being welded back to back, and the sharp edges at the joints may cause injuries if the workers try to crawl through in haste. There are other challenges, too, such as the temperature difference between the tunnel and outside.

To mitigate these factors, rescue teams have a plan. Once the rescue pipe reaches the workers, a doctor with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) would go and check their condition. He would show them how to crawl through the pipes. Stretchers have also been arranged, just in case they are needed.

Outside the tunnel, 41 ambulances are on standby to take the workers to a makeshift hospital that has come up in Chinyalisour. Rescue workers said the workers would go through a detailed medical examination once they reach the hospital.

The tunnel, part of the centre's ambitious Char Dham project, is located between Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarakhand, on the road proposed to connect Uttarkashi and Yamunotri. Work on the 4.5 km tunnel has been mostly completed.

Following a landslide on November 12, the workers were trapped in the tunnel. The area they are stuck in is about 8.5 metres high and 2 km long. Fortunately, that part of the under-construction tunnel has electricity and water supply.

Over the past 12 days, the rescue operations ran into many difficulties owing to the topography of the Himalayan region and the nature of soil. These factors led to frequent roadblocks and tardy progress in the operation.