army sends new equipment to free 41 workers trapped in Himalayan tunnel

Rescue officials should now have a plasma cutter at their disposal.

The complex operations are taking place on three fronts. On Sunday, November 26, the Indian army transported new equipment to the site of a partially collapsed tunnel in the Himalayas. “essentials” to be able to free 41 workers trapped for 14 days. The Indian Air Force said it “eager” to send a third load of equipment in the face of the multiple obstacles which have slowed down rescue operations since the partial collapse of the Silkyara tunnel under construction on November 12, in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand.

Rescue officials should now have a plasma cutter: it should make it possible to eliminate the thick metal beams and construction vehicles that obstruct drilling and the insertion of a large tube through which the workers could find freedom . During previous rescue operations, a drilling machine broke just nine meters from where the workers were trapped.

Advanced military equipment

According to the Air Force, this equipment comes from the National Defense Research and Development Organization, the government’s defense technology research arm.

The Uttarakhand chief minister on Saturday announced the start of vertical drilling to try to reach the tunnel, about 89 meters below, in a complex excavation operation above the stranded men, especially in an area which has already suffered a collapse.

In the tunnel, the men have a relatively large space, approximately two kilometers long and 8.50 m high. Work has also started to dig at the other end of the road tunnel but the breakthrough will be much longer, estimated at around 480 meters.

“Good morale”

The trapped workers have been surviving for 14 days thanks to the delivery of air, food, water and electricity through a conduit into which an endoscopic camera has been inserted. On Tuesday, their families were able to see them for the first time since the tunnel collapsed.

According to the Uttarakhand chief minister, the workers “good morale” and have a telephone exchange set up so that they can communicate with their families. Since Wednesday, the authorities have said several times that they expect a happy outcome in the coming hours.

“Friable rocks” and “critical challenges”

The government immediately warned that the situation was “likely to evolve due to technical problems, difficult terrain [que constitue] the Himalayas, and unforeseen events”.

As Franceinfo explained, this fragility is linked to the melting of the Himalayan glaciers which are nearby. The national disaster management authority noted, in a 2020 report, that this area, composed of limestone and friable rock, was “exposed to critical challenges”. A group of experts appointed by the Indian Supreme Court even recommended, at the same time, “the ban on tunnel projects” on the edge of the Himalayas.