NHIDC Director Anshu Manish said that it may take another 50 hours to evacuate the workers (Uttarkashi Tunnel 40 Workers Stuck). Meanwhile, talks are being held with the workers trapped in the tunnel through walkie talkies.
New Delhi : 40 laborers trapped in the Uttarkashi Tunnel Collapses of Uttarakhand for the last four days are still fighting for their lives. The American drilling machine brought from Delhi by Air Force aircraft has been fitted in the tunnel. Drilling work will start soon. On the other hand, efforts are going on to remove debris from the Silkyara Tunnel. About 40 workers are trapped for the last 4 days due to debris falling inside the tunnel. To take out these workers, a high power American Auger machine has been fitted inside the tunnel.
Also read- Uttarakhand accident: 40 laborers trapped in tunnel for 3 days, help of Thai firm will be taken for rescue
This huge, huge machine was brought from Delhi to Uttarkashi in two Hercules C-130 aircraft. This machine was in three parts. Work is being started after assembling it. Meanwhile, NHIDC Director Anshu Manish said that it may take another 50 hours to evacuate the workers. Meanwhile, talks are being held with the workers trapped in the tunnel through walkie talkies. Oxygen, water, medicines and food items are being continuously supplied to them through a pipe. In such a situation, as part of the second attempt to evacuate the workers, one meter thick steel pipes were brought from Dehradun.
American drill machine reached near the tunnel
The first attempt to drill pipes into the debris failed. After this, now a bigger machine has been sent to Uttarkashi from Delhi, which was delivered to Uttarkashi today by Air Force's Hercules aircraft. This machine has now reached near the tunnel. This machine will work to transport the steel pipes through the debris to the workers at the other end. This machine can drill up to five meters in an hour. Workers are trapped about fifty to sixty meters away from the debris. In such a situation, workers are expected to get relief in the next few hours.
Anger among the families of workers trapped in the tunnel
But while waiting for this relief, the patience of the families of the workers and other people working with them is now paying off. This morning, many friends of the workers reached the spot and expressed their displeasure with the company and administration that is building the tunnel and said that they are not taking the relief and rescue work seriously. Angry people also tried to break the barricade and move ahead but the police stopped them beforehand.
Taliban welcome return of international flights to Kabul
After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, all international airlines stopped flights to Afghanistan.
Officials in Afghanistan 's ruling Taliban welcomed the resumption of FlyDubai flights to Kabul's international airport on Wednesday , which ceased service two years ago after the fall of the Western-backed government.
In mid-August 2021, as US and NATO forces withdrew after two decades of war, all international airlines suspended flights to Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power.
A UAE FlyDubai flight arrived in Kabul on Wednesday. Long-haul airline Emirates' sister airline FlyDubai will now operate two flights a day to Kabul.
The office of Taliban Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar said in a statement on Wednesday that the resumption of flights is a sign of "the restoration of Afghanistan's airspace as a safe and traditional state, in which (the state) will land various types of flights." .'
However, almost all Western airlines are avoiding flights in Afghan airspace.
"This shows that all airports in Afghanistan are ready to provide the required facilities and quality services," the statement said.
Flydubai, when asked for comment, referred to an October statement announcing that flights would resume. This (statement) did not discuss any security concerns related to working in the country.
In May last year, the Taliban signed an agreement allowing an Emirati company to take over the management of three airports in Afghanistan. Under the agreement, Abu Dhabi-based firm GAAC Solutions will manage the Herat, Kabul and Kandahar airports.
Two Afghan airlines, Com Air and Ariana Afghan Airlines, operate flights from Kabul to destinations such as Dubai, Moscow, Islamabad and Istanbul.
The resumption of flights came after Associated Press reporters on Monday saw Badr al-Din Haqqani, the Afghan Taliban's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, walking past an Airbus A380 looking at business class seats at the Dubai Air Show. He was recently posted to the post in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
The emirate, long allied with the United States, has hosted Afghan diplomatic posts for years under both the Taliban and its previous Western-backed government.
Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani was seen in the country in 2021 shortly after fleeing a Taliban advance.