Rescue operation continues in Uttarkashi tunnel, two NDRF teams deployed for emergency situation
Rescue operation is going on in the tunnel under construction that collapsed in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand and now the work of digging the tunnel is being done from two sides. There is a tunnel for two kilometers ahead of where this tunnel collapsed, but the other part is still closed. Different agencies are working in this rescue operation. NDRF, Border Security Forces, Fire Department are engaged in this rescue work.
Giving information about this, National Disaster Management Authority member Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain said that ‘two teams of NDRF are rehearsing on the site to deal with any contingency and any situation. If in any situation, they have to crawl into the tunnel or assist technical experts or rescue workers trapped in the tunnel, the teams are fully prepared.
He further said that ‘there is enough water, oxygen power and light inside the tunnel. Some families of the stranded workers have been taken there. Contact is ongoing with the state administrations from where the workers come. The relatives of some workers are able to talk to the stranded workers through the 4-inch pipe installed there. Our focused efforts are on horizontal drilling through auger machine, which has been brought from outside.’
#WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Member of the National Disaster Management Authority, Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain says “There is sufficient water, oxygen power and light inside the tunnel. A few families of the trapped workers have been transported there.… pic.twitter.com/SzOixTi8Uy
— ANI (@ANI) November 21, 2023
Hasnain further said that ‘NDRF, ITBP, Army Engineers, SDRF, Fire and Emergency Services, BRO and other technical agencies of the Government of India are working there. When rescue work takes place in a tunnel, it is a very challenging endeavour. 3-4 international experts have also visited the site. The government has ensured that wherever we have information about experts, those experts have arrived and are available for advice.’
He said, ‘There is a lot of space inside where the workers are trapped. Ration, medicines and other essential things for survival are being delivered through a compressor to the place where these workers are. According to the information, efforts are going on at 5 places to save the lives of workers, but the maximum success has been achieved in horizontal digging.
