Landslides blocked arterial roads leading up to Dharali where dozens of people were trapped and many homes and cars swept away by the raging waters on Tuesday. Eleven Army personnel from the nearby camp in Harsil were among those missing.
Officials said in the evening that a six-metre section of a steel pipe had been inserted into the bored passage. Another section was being welded into it. The plan is to insert 800 mm and 900 mm diameter pipes -- one after the other -- with the help of the giant drill till an escape passage is created for the workers stranded beyond the collapsed portion of the under-construction tunnel.
The chances of survival for eight people trapped in a collapsed tunnel in Telangana are "very remote," according to a minister. Rescue efforts are ongoing but the minister says it could take three to four days to reach the trapped individuals due to the debris and muck. The minister also mentioned a team of rat miners, who had rescued construction workers in Uttarakhand in 2023, are now assisting with the rescue efforts.
A Pawan Hans helicopter, engaged in rescue operations in rain-ravaged Uttarakhand, made an emergency landing at Harsil on Friday.
For them it was a late Diwali, as the tunnel collapse happened on November 12, the day of the the festival.
The advisory, issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, also told private television channels to be sensitive in their reportage, especially while putting out headlines and videos of the rescue operations, considering the psychological status of family members of the trapped workers.
Landslides and flooding triggered by heavy rain have devastated villages in Chamoli district, Uttarakhand, leaving many feared trapped and injured. Rescue operations are underway.
As rescuers in India on Tuesday successfully pulled out all 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in Uttarakhand after 16 days, the global media hailed the rescue operation and provided live coverage of the dramatic development.
Flash floods ravaged Dharali, around 264 km from Chamoli, burying half of the mountain village in a fast-flowing mudslide of slush, rubble, and water.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday, November 29, 2023 celebrated the Igas Bagwal festival with the family members of the 41 rescued workers from the Uttarkashi tunnel at his residence in Dehradun.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on Friday said no progress has been made since Thursday in drilling through the debris at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand to rescue 41 trapped workers but assured that the drilling by auger machine will start soon.
The minister for road transport and highways, who was accompanied by Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, said the rescue operation is challenging as the soil strata in the Himalayan region is not uniform.
He said he has spoken to the trapped labourers.
As night fell over Chositi village, rescuers worked frantically and pulled out 167 people from under mounds of rubble. Of these, 38 are in a serious condition, officials said. The death toll went up steadily as the day progressed and there were fears it could rise further.
Larger diameter pipes have also been inserted up to a length of 42 metres through the debris on Sunday morning to provide enough food and other essentials to the trapped workers, a control room set up at the site said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed anguish at the loss of lives in Uttarakhand and noted that rescue operations are underway to help the affected.
Nagnyal said 26 people were in the vehicle and most of them were residents of Delhi. Ten people died in the accident, the IG said.
'Joro shoro se rescue operation chal raha hai.'
Cloudbursts and heavy rains caused widespread destruction in Dehradun and surrounding areas, leaving people stranded and causing damage to infrastructure.
Cloudbursts and heavy rains overnight left a trail of destruction in Uttarakhand's capital Dehradun and its neighbouring areas on Tuesday, sweeping away at least five people and leaving more than 500 stranded in different locations.
The 41 workers, who were rescued from Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation, kept their spirits up while trapped inside by taking morning walks and practising yoga, a rescued worker told Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A plasma cutter was flown in from Hyderabad on Sunday to cut and remove parts of the auger machine stuck in the rubble inside the Silkyara tunnel where 41 labourers have been stranded for the last 14 days.
They said the incident occurred around 4 am when a 150-metre-long portion of the four-and-a-half-kilometer-long tunnel collapsed.
The bodies of the last four of the trapped labourers were pulled out from the site of the avalanche-hit Border Roads Organisation (BRO) camp in Chamoli on Sunday, taking the death toll to eight as authorities ended the nearly 60-hour rescue operation.
After 16 days of intense efforts by multiple agencies, all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi have safely been evacuated on Tuesday evening.
A total of 33,192 people stranded in floods-ravaged Uttarakhand have till now been rescued in the ongoing multi-agency rescue and relief operation even as thousands are still trapped or missing in the hills.
A total of 33,192 people stranded in floods-ravaged Uttarakhand have till now been rescued in the ongoing multi-agency rescue and relief operation even as thousands are still trapped or missing in the hills.
A multi-agency operation to rescue an estimated 34 people trapped inside a big tunnel at Tapovan was carried out overnight after a glacier burst-triggered deluge killed 10 people in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district while over 140 are missing, officials said on Monday.
The Uttarakhand high court on Monday sought replies from the state government and central agencies within 48 hours on the ongoing operation and measures taken to rescue 41 workers trapped inside a partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi for more than a week.
Jaymal Singh Negi mentioned that his brother informed him about the trapped men engaging in yoga and exercises inside the tunnel.
An investigation into the disappearance of a merchant navy cadet off the Sri Lankan coast reveals his last known location and details of the search efforts.
All tunnels being constructed in Uttarakhand will be reviewed, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Thursday after drilling began at the Silkyara tunnel with a heavy duty machine to rescue 40 labourers trapped there for four days.
Rescue operations continued through Tuesday and Wednesday in Joshimath, Rudraprayag, Dehradun, Rishikesh, Pauri Garhwal in Uttarakhand and in Shimla, Chamoli, Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, for those trapped by landslides.
Eight persons were trapped inside after a section of roof collapsed in the under construction stretch in the tunnel of Srisailam Left Bank Canal (SLBC) project, Telangana Irrigation Minister N Uttam Kumar Reddy said on Saturday.
Endoscopic and robotic cameras on Monday were brought to the Nagarkurnool (SLBC) tunnel for the rescue operation.
Rescue workers pulled out all 41 workers trapped in Uttarakhand's Silkyara tunnel in a multi-agency rescue operation that hovered between hope and despair for 16 days.
The aftermath of the cloudburst triggered by heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
With the weather improving, the rescue operations in Uttarakhand picked up pace on Friday, with 17 choppers being flown to evacuate people still stranded at various locations.
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Rescue efforts continue in Telangana for eight people trapped in a collapsed tunnel, but hopes for their survival are fading as experts from the Geological Survey of India and the National Geographical Research Institute have been brought in. The tunnel is filled with debris, making the rescue operation extremely difficult. Despite relentless efforts by the Indian Army, Navy, NDRF, and other agencies, no breakthrough has been achieved so far.
