After a grueling 17-day rescue operation, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel for the 41 workers trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand, India. Following the successful removal of debris by rat miners and the completion of pipe-laying in the final section, the workers are expected to be evacuated shortly.
The rescue operation, which involved a team of international tunneling experts, initially focused on horizontal drilling. However, the operation was hampered when the auger machine blades broke. As a result, alternative options were explored, including vertical drilling and perpendicular drilling.
In addition to the mechanical rescue efforts, the Indian Army has been deployed to undertake manual horizontal drilling. The government has also assured that the trapped workers are safe and are receiving the necessary medical and psychological assistance.
