Uttarakhand tunnel crash - Discussion and Updates

[nits]

Mods - propsing to start a new therad on Uttarakhand tunnel crash; one of the major crisis of recent times where 40 lives are at stack from 8 days. we can discuss the latest update and discussion around it. if you think its not needed or can be disucssed into any exisiting thread. Kindly help with the same please...

[nits]

Latest on this -Uttarakhand Tunnel Collapse Live Updates: Work underway on 5 fronts, BRO clears path for machines

Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapse News Live Updates (November 20): Work is currently underway on five fronts in the operations to rescue the 41 workers who have been trapped since last week in Uttarkashi’s collapsed Silkyara-Barkot tunnel. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has created an access road for the machines to reach the top of the hill, from where a lifeline pipe will be drilled. Work to strengthen the tunnel is also going on, after which horizontal drilling using the American auger will start.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, to discuss the rescue operations, the Uttarakhand CMO said in a statement. Modi said that the Centre is providing the necessary rescue equipment and resources, and that the workers will be evacuated safely through mutual coordination between the Centre and the Uttarakhand government. He added that the workers’ morale needs to be maintained, the CMO said.

After facing several setbacks, authorities on Sunday (November 19) came up with a new five-point plan to rescue the trapped workers. This plan will involve drilling operations from three sides. There will be a vertical drilling operation taking place from the top of the hill under which the workers are trapped. The efforts to drill horizontally through the debris blocking the tunnel at the Silkyara side will continue, and an operation to drill a small tunnel from the Barkot side will also begin, according to the plans.

[krithivas]

Some good news - Food reaching the trapped workers:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cit ... 364922.cms

[sudarshan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L6SEWDxUa8

This is taking so long. At what point can they just go in with pickaxes?

How hard would it be to design and build mini TBMs, which can cut through - say - a 6" diameter hole in hard rock? A number of those working in parallel would be so much better than one big one, which keeps breaking down. The odds of all those smaller TBMs breaking down at the same time would be much smaller. If one breaks down, the remaining ones could be reassigned to incomplete tunnels as needed. Plus less vibrations, potentially.

Tunnel workers could even take one of the smaller TBMs with them, and if there's a collapse, it could at least establish a channel to the outside world from the inside, and maybe even call for help once it gets outside. Or a separate autonomous vehicle could be designed, which would take care of communications etc. once the smaller TBM breaks through from the inside. The workers don't have to wait and hope for the best, they could actively help themselves.

[Sagrawal]

Finally, there is a breakthrough and ambulances going in.

[Sachin]

Was just checking some KL based medias. Focus is on Pushkar Singh Dhami having a word with the rescued workers, even though photos how Gen (Retd.) VK Singh a Union Minister also being present at the venue.

[Manish_P]

All 41 workers rescued successfully!

[Cyrano]

Good to see Bharatiya govt making bhaghiratha-esque efforts to save lives. Jai Ho !

IB4TL !

[vijayk]

https://twitter.com/bykarthikreddy/stat ... 1292824938

https://swarajyamag.com/news-headlines/ ... ara-tunnel
Uttarakhand: All 41 Trapped Workers Rescued Safely From Collapsed Silkyara Tunnel, PM Modi Applauds Operation

IB4TL !

[chetak]

very few realize the sheer enormity and complexity of the massive efforts involved in this successful rescue operation.

the presstitutes have passed it off because they think that any further discussions would benefit some people politically

The completion of the rescue elicited almost no response from a majority of the opposition which means that many toolkits are in place and operating with renewed vigour

[ajay_hk]

Source: Major Gen Harsha Kakar's Twitter Post

Whether you are a supporter of Modi or an opponent of Modi, you have to accept that this kind of rescue operation is unprecedented.

Five people from the Prime Minister's Office were at the spot day and night for 15 days and lived there in the container.

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand was present for three-four hours every day, General VK Singh, Nitin Gadkari and many other ministers used to visit there frequently and review the rescue work.

A special aircraft of the Air Force was sent from Hyderabad and the agar machine was brought from Slovenia. The world's biggest rescue expert was called by a special plane.. To order a special kind of plasma cutter, first the team was sent to Hyderabad, then the plane was sent to America and a special kind of plasma cutter was brought from there.

Four machines and robots and ground penetrating radar were brought from Switzerland by special aircraft.

A helipad and a working runway were also built at the accident site and a vertical oxygen generator plant was installed at the accident site.

Put your hand on your heart and think whether you have ever heard of this rescue operation being conducted in such a quick manner before in history.

[disha]

Please do NOT lock this thread.

Tremendous effort from PMO down and work of 1000s of professionals, both national and international and the grace of the Devas, we have successfully rescued our brothers.

Now, lets' document all the efforts that went into it. More so, since the anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy is looming and how the administration and government shirked its responsibility vis-a-vis what the new India has done. Further and foremost, a narrative by BIF and CONgoons is being circulated to hurt India that is Bharat.

So it is our duty to document all that went into the rescue effort.

I will start with this

https://www.rediff.com/news/interview/g ... 231129.htm

The headline is mis-leading. What the rescue team (at one point running into 1000s) including the rat miners did was tremendous. Rat-miners were the last stage, which I had expected since the last "mile" will be fought centimetre by centimetre. And yes, the rat miners fought that battle, sometimes literally by their fingernails.

Here is the full reproduction from the above link. With some interpolation of mine.

The rat-miners did a tremendous job. They worked inside the enclosed space cutting metal parts with oxyacetylene torches. It is a very difficult task because of the heat, gases and lack of oxygen," says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain, retired, member of the National Disaster Management Authority.

"It was a monumental national effort. I knew that there was just too much talent involved in the rescue. I was sure we will achieve it," General Hasnain tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih in a phone conversation after the completion of a rescue operation that India has never seen before.

This rescue was akin to planning a war campaign; like going into battle, isn't it?


Q: What were some of the key aspects of this mammoth operation?

This is a question that many are asking because people want to know the planning and action that brought the 41 men home.

It began on November 12 with the prime minister and the prime minister's office.

The first call went out to the railway ministry and the railway board because of their reputation in large infrastructure construction, including tunnelling.

It was soon evident that the rescue needed a multi-dimensional effort. We started exploring different options and gathering resources.

We were ready for the long haul.

The PMO drove this effort all along with the Cabinet secretariat, the ministries of home, road transport and highways and health. The National Disaster Management Authority, the state government, the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force), the Indian Army, Indian Air Force, the State Disaster Response Force of Uttarakhand, etc.

These are just some of the agencies among the plethora of organisations that worked towards on the rescue.

Q: When did you know that this this rescue would be a long haul?

By November 16-17 it was quite clear that this would be a long haul.

The American Auger machine brought in for boring did a good job. A lot of people are wondering why it was unable to complete the work, but we must understand that it was up against mammoth challenges.

It cut through almost 47 metres of very hard debris which consisted of concrete, iron rods, steel webbing and different kinds of material that had fallen down.

[Note: The mountain collapsed the tunnel, think of it as squeezed the tunnel, for 60 mtrs. It was a vast tunnel and it had all kinds of equipments, including trucks that got squeezed in that pinch. Imagine tunneling through a loose debris field in an active mountain with differing weather conditions, that was part of the challenge]

This exercise took a toll on the boring component of the Auger machine which finally broke and got stuck inside the tunnel.

It took a monumental effort to cut that material and pull it out. It required specialised equipment that was flown in from places as far as Rajahmundry near Hyderabad by the Indian Air Force, IndiGo airlines. It was then transported by road up to the tunnel.

We tried horizontal boring and also vertical drilling.

The Border Roads Organisation constructed a road so that the machine could be taken up there for vertical drilling.

Vertical drilling went in as deep as 46 metres, but we decided to stop it because we didn't want the horizontal drilling effort to get disturbed.

I am explaining this to depict the simultaneous decisions that were being taken and how resources from different parts of the country were moved by air, rail and road.

Green corridors were created for quick movement of resources by the railway board, Uttarakhand government and several other state governments to allow unimpeded movement across the vast country.

Officials were spoken to at three o'clock in the morning. Deputy commissioners, SSPs, district magistrates, SPs etc remained awake and were willing to take risks to ensure that this movement takes place.

Q: When you were giving the press conference on Tuesday evening, the rescue was close and yet so far. I could sense the cautiousness in your voice.

The last two metres were crucial. I did not want to announce prematurely until the Government of India was informed about it.

It was important to be cautious because if you generate hope and are met with failure, the disappointment of 1.4 billion would be monumental.

One wrong message could have disappointed the nation. We knew we would succeed, but we had to be cautious because we could have encountered obstacles in the last two metres.

A premature announcement would not have been the right thing to do.

The twelve rat miners worked brilliantly to achieve the last 10-12 metres.

What they did was tremendous. They have the ability to work in enclosed space. They can stay in there for hours and continue cutting metal parts with oxyacetylene torches etc. It is a very difficult task because of the heat, ensuing gases, lack of oxygen, etc.

Some of them were speaking on television before going in, they sounded so confident and self-assured. It was very reassuring for the country. These are people whom very few give importance and they were doing a mammoth job for the nation.

The rat miners were brought in after the Auger machine had completed clearing up to 47 meters. They completed the remaining 10 to 12 metres and were joined by Army engineers and others.

Q: I hope the government will recognise them adequately.

The government will surely recognise them in due course. There is a system in government which recognises individuals who put their lives in danger in this manner.

Q: What was the role international experts in this operation?

As soon as the enormity of this challenge was realised -- which happened within the first 24 hours itself -- we initially reached out to international talent online.

Many people were consulted, including those who conducted the rescue in Thailand.

We have experts in our own country, but we also wanted to consult those who had experience of such rescue efforts.

A very wise decision was taken to fly in foreign experts. At times there were no direct or appropriate flights. Some like Professor Arnold Dix came on their own, by rerouting themselves from different directions to land in Delhi.

They were four foreign experts. They camped at the site and their presence has been very reassuring.

We were disappointed when the Auger machine broke down, but they kept pushing our hopes up. They said it would take time, but all 41 will definitely come back alive.

Professor Dix was guiding us throughout. There were our own experts and engineers from different government departments and organisation, but his voice was carried weight because of his experience.

Q: What was the most difficult moment of this entire 17 days?

The breaking down of the Auger machine.

[Note: The auger was American made, already available somewhere within India and was flown in on IAF transport plane and trucked to the site]

The broken parts had to be pulled out of the tunnel in order to start the manual boring. The equipment required to achieve this included magna cutters, plasma and laser cutters, etc that had to be flown from different parts of the country. We had to wait till that was brought in and then pull out the last bits of the auger.

The manual mining began thereafter. The rat-miners achieved the last 10-12 metres very quickly. I was expecting that they would probably take 48 to 72 hours. but they were very, very good.

Q: At any point, did you ever think what if this doesn't succeed?

Maybe somewhere in the back of the mind, but I knew that there was just too much talent involved in the rescue. I was sure we will achieve it.

[Note: This is why I hate mediapimps and assorted journos. They bring in their own biases into the equation. When in such a situation, the brave get going. Sometimes failure is not an option and the entire mind+body (not just the individual) but all of them work as one. They bring the best out of everyone. There is no doubt on success. And here is where leadership matters. It was clear, if the team succeeds, the credit will go to the team. If it fails, only one person will be blamed]

Q: It also speaks about the resilience and courage of the 41 workers.

Their survival skills were of very high order. They are hardy people who have been working in the mountains although they are from the plains. They are main workforce of companies involved in infrastructure development in the mountains.

I can vouch that the Border Roads Organisation swears by them.

These men had the capacity, resilience and courage to survive.

[Note: The 41 kept each other encouraged, that in itself is a story]

Q: The state government has announced Rs 1 lakh each for the workers; do you think there'll be more compensation for them? Also, will there accountability sought from those constructing the tunnel?

The goal of the NDMA was to rescue the trapped men. There will be many issues which will come up for discussion and the reasons for the tunnel collapse will be analysed.

But that is for subsequent times. This is a happy moment for all of us and we should take heart from it just now.

[Note: As a nation, we are still soft. Thanks to #mediapimps like Archana Masih. Tunnels will collapse. Of course we have to take all safety considerations into account and come up with best practices, but mishaps will happen. It is how we respond to mishaps that defines the nation.]

[sanjaykumar]

A satisfactory conclusion.

It is not lost on anyone that no expense was spared for some men from the very poorest regions of India. That in itself is notable.

Those rat drillers are real heroes.

[chetak]

Here is another take

via@AbhishBanerj

Hindus are facing apartheid in this country

Some 2000 people worked on the rescue, but you can see that history is refusing to remember a single Hindu name

In WW2, over 1 million Indians fought against the Nazis

But history remembers only the valor of white people.

The Pope even demanded that Indian soldiers who came to liberate Italy should not be allowed to enter the Vatican!

See the same mentality against Hindus today.

[chetak]

Australia's Tunneling Expert Arnold Dix offered prayers at the Hindu temple of Baba Bokhnaag after successful rescue operation & even put tilak on his forehead

Dix said he would have to visit the temple to say ‘thank you’ as that was his promise when the difficult rescue operation was going on.

Arnold Dix heads the Geneva-based International Tunnelling Underground Space Association & he is the man behind the mega operation.

[sanjaykumar]

My gosh, Ghose why would I have difficulty acknowledging Muslims who worked the rat hole tunneling?

[chetak]

Dependable AMUL, always comes through.......

[disha]

My gosh, Ghose why would I have difficulty acknowledging Muslims who worked the rat hole tunneling?

Sanjay'ji, please step into the world of X-Twitter where narratives are built and tested and then mainstreamed.

There is a reason why I was pointing out that 1000s of rescuers contributed across multiple agencies and BIF/Pagalikas have an agenda of talking about only particular members of a particular community. This is to sow seeds of hatred.

That is why, nuance helps. Check out how Lt. Gen Syed Ata Hasnain side stepped the question from A Masih on the reward for "bravery" of the rat miners. What about the bravery of the 41 trapped? They knew that any point, nature will turn against them. Every second was a second lived more in a confined condition along with 40 other people trapped. They did not lose patience. They did not fight among themselves. They maintained a discipline worthy of a 2-week sojourne in a submarine. And they are civilians!

So yes, do give credit to rat miners for fighting through the last 17 mtrs tooth and nail, but do also acknowledge the contribution of many. In reality, just tell the facts. All the people were Indians only.

[chetak]

posted without comment

[Cyrano]

Nice guy this Arnold Dix ! If he got anymore dharmic, we'd have to call him AravIND Dixit