An iron mesh that was obstructing the auger machine drilling through the rubble at Silkyara tunnel has been cut and removed, officials said. “The iron mesh problem has been solved. We used iron cutters to cut the mesh,” said Bhaskar Khulbe, a former advisor to the prime minister’s office. The drilling of 800 mm diameter steel pipes through the rubble had to stop for a few hours after hitting the iron mesh late Wednesday. With the obstacle cleared, the pipe pushing process has continued, officials said.
He said that they were trying to move further by 6 metres from the 45-metre mark that they had reached. He also said that the drilling work was halted last night due to an iron mesh, but it was resolved. He hoped that there would be no more hindrances in the rescue work.