Shimla: Incessant rains and a snag developed in Heavy Drilling rig hampered rescue operation of three workers trapped inside an under-construction tunnel for about a week.
The drilling of 1.2 mt diameter tunnel to reach the trapped persons was almost complete and less than 1 mt of drilling was left when the Heavy drilling Rig developed a snag last night, warranting replacement of a part of the drill and the operations were suspended, Special Secretary (Disaster Management and Revenue), DD Sharma, said.
The spare part dispatched from Delhi has reached us and technicians are changing the part of the heavy drilling rig which was 40 mts deep inside the tunnel, he said, adding that rescue operations would resume immediately after the snag is removed.
The employees were trapped inside tunnel No 4 of Kiratpur-Nerchowk four-lane project near Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh when a portion of it collapsed on September 12.
Two of the three trapped labourers had been confirmed to be alive as the rescue teams established contact through digital camera and microphone after hours of digging.
However, there has been no communication established with the third employee, Hriday Ram, as his condition remains unknown.
The rescue teams were confident of pulling out the trapped persons by mid-night yesterday, but the snag in the rig and rains played the spoilsport.
The 50-member NDRF team, headed by commander Jaideep Singh, are waiting to enter the tunnel to through the bore once the drilling is completed.
Food and water is being supplied to the trapped workers through a 47 mts and 4-inch diameter bore, and a high resolution video camera and microphone have also been provided to maintain a constant contact.
The NDRF men and team of doctors with ambulance and other medical facilities have been kept on standby.
The operation is massive but the progress is slow due to tough terrain as compared to plains and we are inching towards the spot, Project Manager of four-laning project being executed by National Highway Authority of India, S Kaul said.
The trapped persons will be hopefully rescued by tonight, Mr Kaul added.
