Moments after he comes out of the 4.5km-Silkyara tunnel, where the rescue operation to save 41 lives has entered the final phase, Arnold Dix brings with him hope to people, families, and those present outside the site since November 12.
Dix, an international tunnel expert from Australia has mostly been staying inside the tunnel and guiding the technical teams in the rescue mission. Even though there are a dozen top agencies of the central government and state involved in the rescue work, he is seen as the biggest hope for the ongoing mission to bring all 41 workers trapped men alive to their homes.
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“I am giving an absolute guarantee that we are going to bring all men home. They are alive, warm and healthy, besides highly motivated. The operation may take longer than expected because the mountain geology is unpredictable. I am fully satisfied with the progress made. It's just a matter of time or days,” he tells Outlook on the side-lines of the under-construction tunnel that collapsed recently.
There are a total of 10 international experts assisting scores of Indian experts, geologists, and technical hands involved in the operation.
“The day I reached here and discussed the things with experts, I got a fair idea of what has to be done next. I suggested exploring multiple options to reach the workers. This is like --- we have five to six closed doors to a place and all the doors should be knocked simultaneously when there is an emergency like this. You never know which door will open first or other will have more challenges than one. Finally, the advanced Auger machine started working fine on the Silkayara side and became our biggest hope but that too faced an obstacle,” he says.
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However, Dix, also the president of the International Tunneling and Underground Space Association, refuses to give any deadline for the rescue. “I hate this word dead (line). We were hoping to see the workers out by this time a day before. Then we hoped to see them this morning and then afternoon. But, it looks like the mountain had different ideas. We have had to pause the auger (machine) operation. Some repairs were done to the machine,” he says
He explained how laying the 800mm pipe horizontal pipe to 46.8 meters for creating an escape passage was certainly a breakthrough but, a problem cropped up. "But the same has now been overcome," he says.
He feels that vertical drilling still remains an option but needs meticulous planning. "The current situation seems promising but requires careful evaluation to avoid further risks," he says.
Dix says he had handled some of the toughest rescue operations and this too, is extremely complex. “They have all basic facilities—water, light, and diet to survive and stay healthy. They get medical care. They also have facilities to talk to families outside on audio-communication. These are very strong signals about the operation heading to its success. We have just a few meters to go now,” he declares.
