Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 09:15pm on 24 Nov 2023,Friday India
Officials could not make any progress in rescuing the 41 workers as drilling could not resume Friday. Just 10-12 more metres of debris remain to be drilled inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi before evacuation pipes can be installed. A metal object damaged equipment blades halting operations. Senior officials hope to establish contact Saturday if no more hurdles emerge. On Thursday, the drilling platform got destabilized after the drill bit damaged tunnel steel pipes. The evacuation pipe got warped, narrowing its mouth so the machine couldn't push through. Officials said chopping 1.2m off the pipe took 7-8 hours. With at least the fifth obstruction hitting drilling, GPR scanning is being used to check the remaining debris. After a series of obstacles, the risky Uttarakhand tunnel rescue hopes to break through by Saturday barring any new setback.
