Vertical drilling begins to rescue 41 workers trapped in tunnel

The vertical drilling to rescue the workers, who were trapped in the Silkyara tunnel since November 12, has been resumed and the rescuers have managed to make progress over a distance of 17 metres from the hill above the tunnel. Due to some problems with the vertical drilling work on the upper part of the hill, the work was halted until today. (Reuters photo)

On the day of Diwali, when the whole nation was celebrating with crackers, the Silkyara tunnel collapsed trapping 41 workers. Nearly 300 to 400 workers were deployed at the site, working in two shifts, which means 150 to 200 men used to work inside the tunnel in a single shift on a given day. (PTI Photo)

At least a dozen of government departments and agencies are involved in the rescue operation. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the armed forces, the Union highways ministry, National Highways & Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL), National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), IAF and many more have come together for the operation. (Reuters photo)

The Indian Air Force on Sunday flew in 'critical DRDO equipment' in an effort to accelerate the rescue of 41 workers, who are trapped inside the collapsed portion of the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi for over two weeks now. (ANI Photo)

A plasma-cutting machine was flown to the tunnel site from Hyderabad to cut through the Auger drilling machine and its stuck blades from inside the tunnel on Sunday. To relieve the stress and anxiety of the workers, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has stepped in to provide them with a landline through which they can talk to their families. (ANI photo)

A unit of Madras Sappers, an engineer group of the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army has been called in at Uttarkashi's Silkyara tunnel for manual drilling at the site where 41 workers have remained trapped for the past 15 days. For manual drilling, the Indian Army along with civilians will do rat boring inside the tunnel. (ANI Photo)

Arnold Dix, the president of the Geneva-based International Tunneling and Underground Space Association, arrived at the Silkyara tunnel site. Dix, who hails from Australia, said, "We are going to get them out for sure. We have got the best experts for this Himalayan geology here." (ANI Photo)

With hopes rising that 41 workers trapped in the under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi’s Silkyara may be evacuated soon, ambulances and helicopters are on standby to ferry rescued workers to hospitals. (Reuters photo)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been taking daily updates about a rescue operation launched in Uttarakhand to safely take out 41 labourers trapped inside an under-construction tunnel, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on Saturday. Earlier, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari reviewed the rescue operation and said boring horizontally with the huge auger machine appeared to be the best bet. (PTI Photo)

Fruits such as apples, oranges, sweet lime, and bananas and essential medicines like electral were delivered to workers trapped inside the collapsed Silkyara tunnel on Tuesday through the new six-inch-wide pipeline. According to an official statement, the six-inch food pipeline laid on Monday at the Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi has since become fully functional. (ANI Photo)