The collapse of a Himalayan highway tunnel in Uttarakhand, India, trapped 40 workers, sparking a challenging rescue operation. The incident occurred on November 12, 2023, and the workers are reported to be in good health, being supplied with food, water, and air through pipes. The affected portion of the tunnel was about 40 meters long, and rescue efforts were hampered by the continued collapse of the roof of the tunnel as they attempted to install a steel casing large enough for the workers to crawl through. The 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel is being constructed along the Char Dham Hindu pilgrimage route as part of a major road-building initiative by the Indian government. Source: Reuters.
Related Articles
NYC Subway Tunneling Begins Under Second Avenue, TBM Launched
The Drillers, Rigs, Rock and Hart of the Chile Mine Rescue
As 33 trapped miners waited more than 2,000-ft underground for their rescue, a whole team of Chilean government officials, mining engineers, equipment manufacturers and of course drillers came together get the job done. Jeff Hart, a driller from Denver, Colorado was one of the stars of the day. Hart was in Afghanistan drilling deep water wells when he got the call and hopped on a plane. He works for Kansas-based Layne Christensen, and along with 3 other Layne employees, he manned the Schramm T130 drill rig that was part of “Plan B” that eventually became the shaft from which the trapped miners were rescued.
On the drilling platform overseeing the drilling was James Stefanic of Layne, and crew members Matt Staffel, Doug Reeves and Jorge Herrera. The rig and I presume some of the support equipment was owned by Layne’s Latin America affiliate, Geotec Boyles Bros, SA. The drill bits were from Center Rock, Inc. of Berlin, Pennsylvania. The Center Rock CEO, Brandon Fisher, was on site throughout the operation as well.
Read on for more info, photos, video and links on the drilling, drillers and geology of the Chile Mine rescue.