TAPOVAN/DEHRADUN: Hope is splintered in 40-second fragments here. Every time an excavator moves into Tunnel 1 of the Tapovan-Vishnugad hydropower project, inside which 34 men remain trapped, those waiting outside hold their breath.
If the excavator manages to carry some debris out when it emerges, they are relieved. If not, another excruciating minute is added to their long wait.
For four days now, the 50-odd members of the rescue team have been trying to dredge a passage to the stranded men but have made little headway into the 1.6-km tunnel. So, on Wednesday, there was a change of plan.
“We have marked a spot 70m inside the main tunnel, where we will start digging. About 12m below is a silt flushing tunnel (which carries sediment-laden water out). This is connected to the main tunnel at a point beyond the slush and debris. We hope the trapped workers are in an auxiliary tunnel which can be accessed through the flush tunnel,” ITBP spokesperson Vivek Pandey said.
2 more bodies found, U’khand tragedy toll climbs to 34
Till Tuesday, the “180mpoint” had been a catchphrase — it’s the point along the 1.6-km tunnel where it bifurcates and where the rescue team believes the swathe of muck may have stopped in its tracks. This was where they had initially thought they must get to. “But that bend has been difficult to reach. An alternative plan had to be made,” Uttarakhand DGP Ashok Kumar told TOI.
This is the only spot in the path of Sunday’s devastating floods where the government and rescue officials believe survivors could be found. In other parts, two more bodies were found on Wednesday, taking the toll to 34, of whom 10 have been identified. And 170 remain missing.
As a TOI team watched the rescue operations through Tuesday night, the challenges had been evident — the lights keep going out, water keeps flowing inside and undoing all their work and the temperature hovers around the subzero mark. But the rescue team, the senior official overseeing the night ops said, is prepared for this. “What we are worried about,” he added, “are the men inside.” While they keep working, relatives of those stuck inside take turns staying up. Most are too anxious to call it a night.