Rescue teams are making significant progress in the operation to free 41 workers who have been trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand for over 2 weeks. The rescue operation, which involves digging by hand using the rat-hole mining technique, has brought rescuers to within just five meters of reaching the trapped men. Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami stated that the escape passage has been prepared up to 52 meters inside the tunnel, and the breakthrough is expected soon. The skilled team of workers has been removing the debris by hand while pipes are pushed through the rubble by an auger machine.

The government has facilitated the rescue operation by undertaking road repair work near the tunnel to ensure smooth movement of ambulances. The chief minister mentioned that stones were coming in the way, but they were being broken using cutters. A worker from the Trenchless company, which is pushing the pipes with the auger machine, expressed optimism that good news could be expected by evening if no hurdles are faced.

It should be noted that the trapped men are not rat-hole miners but people who are experts in the technique. They are likely to be divided into teams and will go into the escape passage for brief periods. Each team will perform specific tasks such as drilling, collecting rubble, and pulling it out using a trolley.

The rescue operation faced a setback when the auger drill got stuck while drilling into the debris, causing officials to abandon the machine. However, the efforts continued with the manual extraction method. The tunnel where the workers are trapped is part of the Char Dham highway, a significant infrastructure project aimed at connecting four Hindu pilgrimage sites through a network of roads.

The cause of the cave-in that trapped the workers has not been determined yet. The region is susceptible to natural disasters such as landslides, earthquakes, and floods.