1) Speaking to ANI, Managing Director and CEO of Squadron Infra and Mining Pvt Limited, Cyriac Joseph said, “We are here to support the team and we are working effortlessly. Our priority is the safety of the trapped labourers so that’s why we have got a drone so that we can monitor their situation.”

2) “The drones are of the latest technology that can go inside the tunnels. It goes autonomous in accessible areas and then you can access it there at any convergence. It can also go in GPS-denied areas. This is the first time that such drones are being used in such a disaster,” Joseph said. 

3) Associate lead mining engineer Asifmulla said that the drone is of the latest technology and is used for underground mines and tunnels. “We have come here from Bengaluru to support the team. The drilling is underway and we all are trying our best to rescue them out of the tunnel.”

4) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Thursday monitored the rescue operations which entered the final phase. Officials have mentioned that no specific timelines should be assumed.

Also Read: Live updates on Uttarkashi tunnel collapse

5) Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Uttarakhand CM on the phone and sought information about the ongoing rescue operation of 41 workers trapped at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi.

6) Horizontal drilling of 800 mm diameter steel pipes reached about 45 metres with only 12 metres remaining of the around 57-metre debris stretch on November 22. However, in a late evening development, the drilling hits a hurdle when some iron rods come in the way of the auger machine.

7) On November 21, the NHIDCL resumed overnight the “horizontal boring operation from the Silkyara end” that involved an auger machine.

8) Union Minister Nitin Gadkari who reviewed the rescue operation said boring horizontally with the huge auger machine appeared to be the best bet. He anticipates a breakthrough within two and a half days.

9) Alternative options were explored by a team of officials from the PMO and experts who decided to work on five evacuation plans simultaneously, including vertical drilling through the top of the tunnel to rescue the trapped labourers.

10) . Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren voiced concern on Wednesday regarding the delayed evacuation of workers from the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Updated: 24 Nov 2023, 08:07 AM IST