As the rescue operations enter the 17th day in the Silkyara tunnel collapse, the work of manual drilling is underway to bring out the trapped workers.According to the latest updates, Micro tunnelling expert Chris Cooper on Tuesday morning informed that another 3 metres of manual drilling has been completed and about 50 metres of drilling work has been completed in total.Official sources state that in order to build a pipe inside the tunnel to reach the trapped miners, a total of 57 metres of drilling work must be done from the tunnels mouth.Watch the first video of manual drilling#WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Visuals from the Silkyara tunnel where the operation to rescue 41 workers is ongoing.First visuals of manual drilling ongoing inside the rescue tunnel. Auger machine is being used for pushing the pipe. So far about 2 meters of… pic.twitter.com/kXNbItQSQR— ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023Speaking on the ongoing drilling work, Chris Cooper said, It went very well last night. We have crossed 50 metres. Its now about 5-6 metres to go. We didnt have any obstacles last night. It is looking very positive.It is to be noted here that prior to this, almost 47 metres of drilling work using the auger machine to lay the pipe was completed by the rescuers. Now, rat-hole miners have been doing the manual drilling since Monday night.#WATCH | Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) tunnel rescue | Visuals from the Silkyara tunnel where the operation to rescue 41 workers is ongoing.First visuals of manual drilling ongoing inside the rescue tunnel. Auger machine is being used for pushing the pipe. So far about 2 meters of… pic.twitter.com/kXNbItQSQR— ANI (@ANI) November 28, 2023Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government and all the agencies together are leaving no stone unturned to evacuate the workers trapped in the Uttarakhand tunnel for the last two weeks and that people should pray for them to get out safely and as soon as possible.Today, when we are praying to Gods and Goddesses and talking about the welfare of humanity, we also have to give a place in our prayers to those labour brothers who have been stuck in a tunnel in Uttarakhand for the last two weeks. The government and all the agencies together are leaving no stone unturned to get them out of the crisis. We have to complete this relief and rescue operation very cautiously... PM Modi posted on X.Today, when we are praying to Gods and Goddesses and talking about the welfare of humanity, we also have to give a place in our prayers to those labour brothers who have been stuck in a tunnel in Uttarakhand for the last two weeks. The government and all the agencies together… pic.twitter.com/2tvDkR68LM— ANI (@ANI) November 27, 2023
