Rescuers to drill from top of Ukhand tunnel

The fate of the workers trapped in a collapsed under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi hung in the balance on Saturday as the rescuers trying to reach them began working on an alternative plan after abandoning the first two - on the seventh day of the operation, while also exploring options to ensure supply of food and essential medicines to the 41 people does not halt.

- Amit Bathla and Prawesh Lama

The new plan involves creating an alternative route at the top of the mountain to enable drilling vertically from a preidentified spot on the tunnel to a depth of about 103 metres where the workers are stuck, officials explained.

Early on Saturday morning, a new auger machine arrived at the site but remained unused after fears of further damage to the tunnel following a loud crack heard the previous day while drilling a hole through the 65-70 metre wall of debris.

All options to rescue the workers are being explored, Bhaskar Khulbe, former adviser to the Prime Minister's Office, said. "We are exploring as many options as possible to rescue workers. It is our priority to reach those who are stuck for days here. We don't lack any resources, options and ideas, we just need some coordinated action and we are trying to make teams and reach there somehow," Khulbe, who arrived on the scene on Saturday, said as he sought to reassure locals.

The construction workers have been trapped since Sunday when a portion of the 4.5-km tunnel they were building collapsed about 200 metres from the Silkyara entrance in the Uttarakhand district. The tunnel is part of the busy Chardham all-weather road, a flagship project connecting various pilgrimage sites.

The National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), which is overseeing the rescue work, also reached out to ONGC, the Indian Army's Engineering Corps, and the engineers who built the Atal Tunnel in Himachal Pradesh, for assistance.

"Four possible points where drilling can start have been identified (on top of the tunnel). We have also started making the approach road on the hill top for the machine," a Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) official, involved in the planning of the operation, said.