Silkyara tunnel rescue operation: Member of the National Disaster Management Authority, Lt General Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd.) says, "Using ground penetrating radar, it has been detected that there is no obstacle for the next 5 meters on our path. We continue to use this to detect obstacles, if any."
Rescue workers were set to begin drilling at the collapsed Silkyara tunnel Friday after putting it on hold for several hours, following a snag that delayed the operation to evacuate 41 men trapped inside for 12 days, officials said.
Officials, at an afternoon news briefing, said that the technical problem that stalled the drilling on Wednesday had been set right, and the operation would begin in the next couple of hours. The boring would resume after the another section of steel pipes is welded to the chute already pushed through, they said.
About 15 metres are still to be covered to reach the trapped workers.