Frantic op on to rescue 40 stuck after tunnel collapse

Rescuers managed to establish contact with the 40 workers via walkie-talkie sets and pumped in oxygen and food through pipes laid down to supply water for construction

Rescuers on Monday mounted urgent but cautious efforts to reach 40 men trapped inside an under-construction tunnel for two days, the latest in a series of incidents that have underscored the dangers of burrowing into the fragile Himalayas.

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The workers were trapped at 5.30am on Sunday while they attempted to complete the final 400m stretch of the 4.5-km long tunnel on the Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi when it collapsed partially, trapping them inside.

Rescuers managed to establish contact with the 40 workers via walkie-talkie sets and pumped in oxygen and food through pipes laid down to supply water for construction. While they are not in any immediate danger since air expected to last the 5-6 days, officials fear rain could hamper rescue by creating more debris.

Abhishek Ruhela, the district magistrate of Uttarkashi, said debris has been removed from around 21 metres of the tunnel. “But loose rock material falling again in the cleared stretch is creating challenges. So, side by side, the tunnel walls are being stabilised through shotcreting (a method of applying concrete projected at high velocity primarily on to a vertical or overhead surface)”.

The workers are trapped in a roughly two kilometre-long segment, almost 40m from the closest point of access for rescuers.

An official on the ground, who asked not to be named, said: “We are hoping that it does not rain. If it rains, it will be difficult to remove the debris inside the tunnel. Though clearing 40m debris is not difficult but clearing the same inside a tunnel is tough.”

“Even while clearing the debris, there are stones falling from the ceiling,” this person added.

Devendra Patwal, Uttarkashi district disaster management officer (DDMO), said a 900mm pipeline is being brought from Haridwar. “After that, it will take nearly 24 hours to push that huge pipe into the collapsed stretch. If that succeeds, the labourers can crawl out of the same pipe, he said, before adding that the risks in this process include unforeseen blockages or major cave-ins.

The 900m pipe will have a width of a little under 3 feet.

“There is sufficient oxygen inside the tunnel for labourers to survive for over 5 to 6 days...so labourers could be rescued tomorrow or the day after,” Patwal said

Most of the trapped workers are from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar and West Bengal, district administration officials said.

Patwal said food and oxygen are being made available to the labourers. “Small food packets have also been pumped inside the tunnel through one pipe with compressed air. Labourers also confirmed about the receipt of food items by shouting through the pipe. Temporary oxygen supply is being made available continuously through water pipeline and ventilation is being ensured at the collapse site through a 200mm pipe”.

At the NDRF headquarters, DIG Mohsen Shahedi, said, rescuers are working on two fronts – one is to clear the 40m debris inside the tunnel, which has blocked the way and trapped the workers, and the second is to insert the 900m diameter pipe through the debris.

At around 3 pm, National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited had procured the steel pipe from Haridwar and at around 6 pm trucks carrying the pipes (to be joined later at the tunnel) left from Haridwar.

Patwal said that rescuers were shotcreting the area from where the debris was revered, making it likely.

“So along with the debris removal, the rescuers have to ensure the stability of the tunnel walls by shotcreting. Over 21 meters of debris was removed today. However, fall of debris reduced the excavated stretch to the tune of 14 metres. So muck/debris removal is continuing followed by shotcreting,” he added.

The officer said they have succeeded in speaking to the trapped labourers through a walkie-talkie once again. “After the trapped labourers had said they were hungry and asked for food, food packets (Chana) were supplied to them through the same pipeline through the compressor,” he said.

According to National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (NHIDCL) officials, on November 10 reprofiling work was started from 260 m to 265 m stretch from the Silkyara side.

“An expert team from the Irrigation Department is also reaching the project site to assist in the successful pushing of steel pipe”, said a government official. .

The trapped labourers include two from two each from Uttarakhand and Assam, one from Himachal Pradesh, four from Bihar, three from West Bengal, eight each from Uttar Pradesh 8, Orissa 5, and Jharkhand 15.

Around 160 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force, the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), and the police and revenue departments are involved in the rescue and relief operation and making efforts to remove the debris with earth-moving, drilling machines, Poclain machines and JCBs, said officials.