INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
DEHRADUN: Wednesday: 5 pm
Wednesday: 6 pm.The joy turned out to be premature
The men were still stuck inside.An hour later, at about 7 pm, personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) were told the
drilling machine had hit metal
The NDRF men would have to squeeze into a 3 ft-wide pipe, one by one, gas cutter in hand, to neutralise the obstruction.There was will and
high temperatures where breathing itself was difficult, and the cramped space that compromised movement and manoeuvre.Wednesday: 10 pm
Despite getting rapidly dehydrated due to flames from the gas-cutting machine in the tiny channel, three NDRF constables kept at it
Each man went in for 10 minutes, did some quick jousting with the metal blockage, scraped and cleaned the floor, and rushed out
The mesh was made of iron rods 32 mm-wide
It was clear the NDRF constables would need help
Manually cutting and removing the unforeseen debris, tough iron bars, had proved more difficult than imagined
Technicians of Delhi-based private company Trenchless Engineering Services, which also owns the American auger machine, had to be called
in.Applauded for their bravery and technical skills, specialists Praveen and Balvinder said it was their most difficult operation and the
first of its kind in their career.Thursday: 1.30 am: Two professional gas cutting specialists, Praveen Yadav from Uttar Pradesh and
Balvinder Singh from Bihar, reached the tunnel and made another attempt
Slightly over two hours later, they came out and said the passage had been cleared
45m-long escape passage with the support of the NDRF team
They were provided special masks and oxygen cylinders
Praveen needed some medical attention after that
Praveen and Balvinder said it was their most difficult operation and the first-of-its kind in their entire career
Later, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami met them and made it a point to mention their names in front of people he addressed at the site
He also told the workers trapped in about Praveen and Balvinder
