Chris Cooper who is also a consultant for the Rishikesh Karnprayag rail project has reached the site to monitor the rescue operation of 40 workers trapped inside the tunnel for six days now.
The ongoing drilling work to reach the 40 trapped workers inside the Silkyara tunnel was halted on Saturday after the rescuers bored 25 metres into the rubble, a top official said.
Explaining the delay in the ongoing rescue operation for 40 labourers trapped inside the under-construction tunnel which collapsed in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi, NHIDCL Director Anshu Manish Khalkho said the delay was due to the fragile nature of the location.
The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association offered assistance to the Indian rescue team as 40 labourers remain stranded due to a tunnel collapse in Uttarkashi.
Relief and rescue operations are underway for the sixth day on a war footing at Silkyara Tunnel, where 40 labourers were trapped following the collapse of the under-construction tunnel.
Union Minister of State of Road Transport and Highways VK Singh took stock of the operation on Thursday and said that the government and all its agencies are making all the efforts to complete the rescue operation in two to three days to evacuate 40 workers trapped inside the collapsed un
As rescue personnel raced against time to reach the workers trapped inside an under-construction tunnel, a portion of which caved in earlier, heavy auger drilling machines reached Chinyalisaur helipad in Uttarkashi to aid the ongoing rescue operation.
Meanwhile, protests broke on Wednesday outside the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi as workers protested over the delay in rescuing 40 labourers who have been trapped inside after a portion of the under-construction tunnel collapsed on Sunday.
Relief and rescue operation is underway on a war footing at Silkyara Tunnel here, where 40 labourers are trapped following the collapse of the under-construction tunnel, an official said on Tuesday.