Rescue efforts in UK tunnel halted

The operation to rescue labourers stuck in the partiallycollapsed Silkyara tunnel is on hold since Friday when a USmade auger machine deployed to drill and push in pipes through the rubble to prepare an escape passage for the trapped workers developed a snag Another highperformance drilling machine airlifted from Indore in Madhya Pradesh arrived in Silkyara on Saturday where its three parts will be assembled before it is deployed for drilling officials on the spot saidMeanwhile the number of workers who have been trapped inside the tunnel since last Sunday has been revised to 41 The NHIDCL which is constructing the tunnel through Navayuga Engineering Company Ltd came to know about this discrepancy on Friday According to an earlier list issued by the NHIDCL 40 workers were trapped inside the tunnel after a part of it collapsed at around 530 am on November 12Deepak Kumar from Muzaffarpur district in Bihar was identified as the 41st person to be stuck in the tunnel A team of officials from the Centre including Additional Secretary MoRTH Mahmood Ahmed Deputy Secretary PMO Mangesh Ghildiyal Varun Adhikari Geologist Engg and engineering expert Armando Capellan have arrived in Silkyara to do an onthespot review of the rescue operationsFamily members of trapped workers wait with baited breath for rescue efforts to resume PicPTIAround 245 pm on Friday during the positioning of the fifth pipe a loud cracking sound was heard in the tunnel after which the rescue operation was suspended a statement issued by the NHIDCL late on Friday night said The sound created panic in the rescue team The pipepushing activity was stopped after an expert involved with the project warned about the possibility of further collapse in the vicinityThe tunnel is part of the ambitious Char Dham allweather road project of the central government being constructed under the National Highways amp Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami held a meeting with officials at his official residence in Dehradun to take an update on the rescue operations at the tunnel in Silkyara Dhami said he hopes the stateoftheart machines manufactured in the country and abroad will be successful in rescuing of the labourersldquoUnder the guidance of the PMO the state government is busy making all efforts to evacuate labourers trapped inside the tunnel ares We hope we will soon succeed in the missionrdquo he said ldquoThe government stands with the families of workers who are trapped Their safe and timely evacuation is our priorityrdquo Dhami said However with the rescue operations at the tunnel entering the seventh day families of the stranded labourers are getting desperate The operation was halted on Friday afternoonFamilies camping outside tunnel in a state of panicTheir voices are getting weaker their strength seemingly dimming those keeping vigil outside the Silkyara tunnel here said on Saturday after speaking to their relatives trapped inside for seven days and countingAs the hours tick by the desperation of families waiting outside is mounting and the machine snag has exacerbated the anxiety The health condition of the men counting the hours inside the dark tunnel is worsening and families keeping vigil outside the tunnel are getting increasingly panicky said Haridwar Sharma whose younger brother Sushil is among those inside the tunnelldquoAll we are getting are assurances from authorities that the trapped labourers will be rescued It has been nearly a weekrdquo Sharma who is from Biharrsquos Rohtas district told the media ldquoThere is no work going on inside the tunnel Neither the company nor the government is doing anything The company says a machine is on the wayrdquo he added tearfullyAmong those waiting is the family of Gabbar Singh Negi His two brothers Maharaj Singh and Prem Singh and son Akash Singh have been camping outside desperate for any sliver of news that comes their way The family belongs to Kotdwar in the state Maharaj said he spoke to Gabbar through a pipe used for supplying oxygen and his voice sounded very feebleldquoI could not talk to my brother His voice sounded very weak He was hardly audible Rescue work in the tunnel has come to a halt Those trapped are also short of food and water We have come to the end of our patience What more can I sayrdquo Maharaj said Their brother Prem said the trapped workers are beginning to lose hope ldquoGabbar said he is alright but his voice is feebler now They are getting light edibles like chana kheer and badam How long can they sustain on thisrdquo Prem saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever