The efforts to rescue 40 labourers trapped in an under-construction tunnel in Uttarkashi hit another roadblock after the new high-capacity machine could not drill further as it got lifted continuously and the bearings of the machine were damaged.
Following this, the machine was anchored onto the platform on November 17.
Working overnight with the new machine from New Delhi, rescue workers had drilled up to 24 metres through the rubble, inching closer to the 40 labourers trapped in the tunnel.
The workers need to drill up to 60 metres to insert 800 mm and 900 mm diameter pipes – one after the other — till an escape passage is created.