"No heavy objects present up to 5 metres": Experts on Uttarkashi rescue operation

Uttarkashi (Uttarakhand) [India], November 24 : The team of experts who came to conduct a survey at the rescue site of the Silkyara tunnel, where 41 workers were trapped after a portion of the tunnel collapsed over a week ago, informed that there were no heavy objects up to 5 metres in the rescue tunnel.
The team, which came from Parsan Overseas Pvt Ltd Delhi, used the ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technique to examine the rescue tunnel.
Ground Penetrating Radar, also known as GPR, Georadar, Subsurface Interface Radar, or Geo-probing Radar, is a totally non-destructive technique to produce a cross-section profile of the subsurface without any drilling, trenching or ground disturbances.
GPR profiles are used for evaluating the location and depth of buried objects and to investigate the presence and continuity of natural subsurface conditions and features.
After examining the rescue tunnel, geophysicist GPR survey team member B Chendhoor said that they were called because something got stuck in the augar machine.
"We were called because something got stuck in the auger machine. GPR helps us know how far away the metallic object is. GPR basically scans; therefore, two people are needed, one to run the GPR and the other to acquire the data. Two members of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were sent with me inside the tunnel for safety reasons. After acquiring the data with GPR technology, we came to the conclusion that there were no heavy objects up to 5 metres in the rescue tunnel," geophysicist Chendoor told ANI.
"GPR works on the radar principle. We send a wave through this technology and receive the date. After examining the data, we acquire the result," he added.

Technician Bharat Singh informed that through GPR, we get information about metal objects, rocks and hard boulders present in the tunnel.
"We have been called here for a geophysical investigation. We've been called to do Electrical Resistivity Imaging (ERI) testing on the vertical drilling. GPR is a ground-scanning machine. We learn about metal objects, rocks and hard boulders. After examining the tunnel, we got a good result for 5 metres," technician Singh said.
When asked about whether they'll conduct the survey again or not, Singh said, "Yes, if we face problems after 5 metres, then we'll come again to conduct the survey."
Meanwhile, the Uttarkashi tunnel rescue operation of the 41 workers trapped in a portion of the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi, which collapsed over a week ago, has been put on hold again after a technical glitch was faced by the rescue team on Friday evening.
The drilling by the American-made auger machine to rescue the trapped workers was halted after the rescue team faced a technical glitch.
Hoping for the safe rescue of the workers trapped in the Silkyara side of the tunnel, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Friday said that the central or state government should take accountability from the contractors.
"We hope that all of them are rescued safely. They have been stuck there since November 12. Every expert says that there is no escape tunnel. No rules and regulations were followed...The central or state government should take accountability from the contractors," she said.
Earlier in the day, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami took stock of the rescue operation of the 41 workers trapped in a portion of the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi and directed the officials that the last phase of the rescue operation should be conducted at a fast pace and with complete caution.
While directing the officials, CM Dhami said that the last phase of the rescue operation should be conducted at a fast pace and with complete caution. He said that this is a very challenging and risky rescue operation.
"The responsibility of saving the precious lives of 41 people trapped in the tunnel is on all of us. The people involved in the campaign will have to work day and night to make the mission successful with full efficiency, capacity, promptness and caution. There will be no shortage of resources for this work," CM Dhami said.
A portion of the under-construction tunnel from Silkyara to Barkot collapsed on November 12. The debris falling in the 60-metre stretch on the Silkyara side of the tunnel trapped 41 labourers inside. The workers are trapped in a 2 km-built portion, which is complete, including concrete work that provides them safety.