The excavator I was working on broke down… Change from horizontal excavation to vertical excavation
The rescue operation of 41 workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in India for two weeks has been temporarily halted due to equipment failure.
According to the Associated Press on the 26th (local time), the excavator that was digging through the rubble of a tunnel that collapsed in northern India on the 25th broke down, and rescue workers began manually removing the debris, but the entire work was halted afterwards.
“The machinery has failed and it is unclear when drilling will resume,” said Arnold Dix, an international rescue expert who is helping with the rescue operation. “The mountain has once again resisted the machinery.”
Dix explained that rescuers would have to remove the entire excavator and replace it before they could begin digging again. It was not specifically revealed how long this work would take.
On the 12th, a 4.5 km long tunnel under construction collapsed due to a landslide about 200 meters from the entrance, trapping workers. The region’s mountainous terrain presents challenges to rescue teams, with excavators breaking down twice while attempting to dig horizontally to rescue workers.
Due to difficulties encountered in horizontal excavation, vertical excavation is being prepared as an alternative. Rescue workers built an access road to the top of the mountain for vertical excavation. But to reach the stranded workers, they would have to dig down 103 meters, almost twice the distance of horizontal digging.
Rescue authorities said they were supplying meals made of rice and lentils through pipes about 15 centimeters thick. Additionally, oxygen is supplied through a separate pipe, and more than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, are on site to monitor their health.
Meanwhile, this tunnel, under construction in Uttarakhand state, is designed as part of a road connecting several Hindu pilgrimage sites. A large number of pilgrims and tourists visit Hindu temples in the state of Uttarakhand every year, and the number is increasing every year.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.