Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday said that a plasma cutter is being airlifted from Hyderabad to cut the auger machine that got stuck in the debris of the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand.

While describing the conditions as “very difficult and challenging”, Dhami informed that the auger machine is expected to be moved out by tomorrow morning and after that manual digging will begin.

Meanwhile, member of the National Disaster Management Authority, Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.) said that there are certain problems being faced which carrying out the rescue operation. “There has been damage in the auger machine and some part of it has not come out. Advanced machinery is required to bring that part of the auger machine out which is being airlifted by the Indian Air Force and it will reach the tunnel site soon,” he said.

What is plasma cutting?

The plasma cutting process is a thermal cutting method which uses the ionised gas (plasma) to cut through conductive materials, according to fractory.com. It is one of the effective methods to cut materials and is widely used in automotive repair and restoration, industrial construction, manufacturing, salvage and scrapping.

How does a plasma cutter works?

The machine is being operated by plasma, an electrically conductive ionised gas-like substance, to cut through the metals. Plasma cutters use compressed air or other gases, such as nitrogen. Ionisation of these gases takes place to create plasma. The intense heat of the plasma melts the material, while the gas stream blows away the molten metal, creating the cut.

Why it is required at the site?

The US-made auger machine, which was deployed for the drilling at the collapsed tunnel site, ran into troubles several times as it was drilling through the debris. The machine stops working when there is any metal obstruction in its way. Subsequently, the machine has to be brought out of the tunnel every time it faces an obstacle.

As the auger machine failed to further carry the rescue operation, the experts are exploring other options like manual drilling of creating a vertical escape passage.