Sikkim Tunnel Collapse Kills 12 | What's Making Rescue Operation Difficult?

[00:00:02]Welcome back. I'm Aud Pratab Singh joining us on NewsX. India's push towards world-class infrastructure is reshaping the nation. From highways through mountains to hydroelect electric projects and railway tunnels, development is moving at our unprecedented pace. But every few years, another tunnel tragedy reminds us of the human cost behind these ambitious projects. The latest incident is from Sikkim where a tunnel collapse at the Thista Stage 6 hydroelectric project has claimed at least 11 lives while several workers remain trapped as rescue operations continue. The project designed to generate 500 megawatts of clean energy from the Thista River is one of India's major hydroelectric ventures in this fragile Himalayan region. According to reports, the disaster began when excavation struck methane bearing rock formations triggering an explosion followed by a gas leak and a tunnel collapse. Rescue teams from the NDRF, SDRF, Sikkim police, and other agencies continue to battle hazardous conditions, including unstable debris and toxic gases. In a race against time, the tragedy has once again revived memories of the Silkara tunnel collapse in Utrahan, where 41 workers remain trapped for 17 days and the Telana tunnel accident earlier this year that claimed eight lives. Together, these incidents point towards a troubling pattern as investigations begin. Several critical questions demand answers. India undoubtedly needs better infrastructure and renewable energy projects but development cannot come at the cost of preventable human lives.

[00:01:23]Well, joining us to discuss this story further is Major General Rajan Cocher, defense analyst. We also have Dr. Harak Patel, former NDRF officer live with us. Deandas, civil engineer also joins the broadcast. M General Cocher is this a preventable tragedy that has occurred in Sikkim and what is complicating the rescue and relief according to you?

[00:01:46]Uh thank you very much OD and uh first of all my condolences to the people who have lost their life in the strategy because you see it's rather unfortunate because if you look at the underground construction in India today especially these kind of projects in the construction tunnel there is a a problem because workers are confined in a very limited space there is oxygen deficiency here toxic gases can be released as we have seen this accident since explosion has taken place and uh the uh point here is I'll just discuss these uh you issue in three parts to actually answer your question the first part is we have to understand the environment in which this action is being taken place as you rightly said that it is that a young Himalayan geology high groundwater ingress is there in these areas. Fault zones are there and methane pockets also develop in this kind of a project and a limited access routes. So uh if you understand these hydroelectric tunnels uh a large volume of combustible gases are uh uh exuded from here and uh the danger is that they don't find a place to escape because in case an accident takes place like we have seen the carbon monoxide gas has been emitted here that a tunnel is so enclosed space that there is no way these gases can escape here. So there is a toxic environment which has been created here and when you use this kind of equipment uh you we have an engineer here who will explain it better. We have the excavators, we have the dumpers, we have the loaders, we have the drilling rigs here. the diesel generator. See, I have always been of this opinion that whenever we do this kind of excavation, we need to have a kind of electrical energy those kind of equipments to be used where we are not dependent on these [clears throat] generators kind of a thing and uh in carbon monoxide you see what happens. It is a colorless orderless you really don't come to know because we have seen in the army also uh in the high altitude areas when we use bkaris and all those things we have lost our men inside their tents and accommodation where the carbon monoxide poisoning has taken place and I think there is a need now because uh you actually mentioned that earlier incident also in Uttakhan and also So you there was also a a similar incident in the northeast also earlier also and I think uh a couple of years back we discussed in your program. So I think uh the challenges which the NDRF will face here because uh you talked about the rescue here firstly the limited visibility because once you enter the persons who are coming into rescue also have to ensure that they don't lose their lives.

[00:05:27]So their equipment also has to be designed in this kind of a manner and some kind of communication has to be some kind of communication has to be established with the people inside. So exactly you know where to reach and whom to rescue and uh NDRF is very very efficient organization let me tell you they have uh you multi- gas detectors available with them oxygen concentrators available with them self contained breathing apparatus is available with them protective helmets and all that ventilation so now I think a larger issue here I would just sum it up is that Whenever we go in for these kind of projects, we must ensure there is a ventilation available that whenever any kind of explosion takes place, there is bound to be a release of gas and where this gas is going to escape. I think that is important to understand >> and I'm sure with the kind of effort the NDRF is going to put in we will be able to rescue most of the people in >> Dr. Dr. Pat, let me uh draw you in here as well now uh on this uh you know rescue and relief operation. What is it making it so complicated? Is it the gas that has been released? Uh is it the terrain there? Is it the weather? Uh what do you believe has led to the complication of the entire operation that we're seeing unfold?

[00:07:02]>> Thank you so much for that question. Um, first of all, I'd like to say that our hearts go out to all those that are being affected by this tragedy and we pray for their speedy safety. Um, regarding your question, I'll first like to put forward that when it comes to tunnel structure stability, there are three main factors that affect the stability of tunnel structures. That includes geological factors, it includes environmental factors, and it includes structural factors. So all three of these aspects need to be taken into consideration when looking both at response as well as prevention. Now the government of India the um the ministry of road transport and highways has released a prevention and mitigation for road tunnel collapses guideline which gives us the details on the safety measures that need to be taken place in order to avoid such um tragedies both in the sense of the collapse of the tunnel itself and especially additionally the safety of the workers who are working in these tunnels for their construction.

[00:08:07]Along with this, there's also the disaster management plan which gives us an idea of how to respond to such tragedies that come and it involves including from the planning stage, design stage to execution and response as well. Now when we look at preventive measures that um actually support ensuring that such um such tragedies do not happen and that the workers have the right tools, the right technologies needed to survive and escape such um collapses. Once again we look back at those three factors that we have to take into consideration. Geological, environmental and structural. Now, especially when looking at geological and environmental, you have to understand that every state, every region, every district, the more local you go, the more different the factors are. So these these plans, these um these actions that need to be implemented need to be as local as possible and as context specific as possible.

[00:09:10]And apart from that the most common uh I mean not most common but the standard measures that can also be taken include technologies such as um like sir mentioned as well self-contained self-rescuers.

[00:09:24]So these are oxygen packages for the workers who are in the tunnels refuge chambers that are built within emergency extraction tubes. These sort of factors are support directly for the workers.

[00:09:36]And the key point here is that this is not a one-time choice, not a one-time decision and one-time implementation.

[00:09:45]Your tunnel grows as you construct it.

[00:09:48]It increases the distance between the safe space and where the workers are. So these refuge chambers, the amount of oxygen available in these self-contained self-rescuers needs to be updated based on how far your workers are from safety.

[00:10:06]And adding to this when looking at geological aspects early warning systems for geohhazards is very very important.

[00:10:13]Here we see landslides affecting tunnels. You see rock um you see rocks affecting these tunnel structures. And so geological early warning systems are very important that are placed at places which are vulnerable. The Sikkim uh state disaster management authority has done a vulnerability assessment and seen that landslides are of the highest risk, highest um loss and damage that are occurring in Sikkim. And so taking that into consideration, knowing where these vulnerable spots are the most, knowing how construction is affecting this spaces as well to make it even more vulnerable. All of these factors need to be taken into consideration. We have local safety uh response teams. They should be involved in the planning of the safety of these construction teams, these construction sites. They should be aware of the location, how these response teams are going, if they are aware of the construction site, they can be quicker in their sense of response as well as sharing their safety um tips and their safety measures as well. So it calls for a full-rounded multi-dimensional multiffactoral assessment and action is what is what is what we're calling for.

[00:11:34]>> Okay. Let me in fact quickly uh take that to you as well Dandas now on this very tragic uh incident that is playing out in Sikkim. You know how do you react to what has happened there? What do you believe potentially caused this? Could it have been prevented if action was taken earlier? uh and also now the rescue and relief operation as well you know it's uh it's eerily similar to what happened in Silkara as well many are comparing it to that would you also compare it to that and what is complicating the situation in Sikim >> firstly uh my condolences to the uh families which have which have been affected uh the people who were working there and as miss uh Patel said that uh the geological factors of of the reason of the of the region also depend on this. Uh the place where the theista river basin rests is it's a it's a seismically active region with fragile rock formations.

[00:12:37]Uh under under those regions are our earth's tectonic plates which are getting affected by the tunneling which is happening. the tunnel uh which we are talking about here where the uh incident happened it's addit three of phase 4B I believe you all have the diagram and the picture of the place uh uh the the tunnel is divided into two parts basically uh the two parts serve as a waterway from the from the river it's basically uh why why we call it a run of the river hydraulic development It it doesn't take water from the river and reservoir it. It takes the actual flow of the river and then it turns it into hydraulic turns it into hydroelectric energy. So uh under these tunnels are our earth's very sensitive tectonic plates and uh these have uh these have very uh very small what do you call it uh very sensitive points where where if struck or uh where if touched uh with any any machinery it can cause blasts like this. Uh uh from what I have heard is uh it was a methane blast inside the tunnels I guess.

[00:14:06]>> Yes.

[00:14:06]>> Yes.

[00:14:08]>> Yeah. It's because of that basically what added three uh phase B in the picture.

[00:14:15]>> Uh if I if you can show uh the people.

[00:14:17]>> Yeah. Yeah. We >> Yeah. Uh the added three part is you can see a horizontal part there. Uh that part serves as a that part serves as a way to service the tunnel. Uh and it also it also uh it also serves as a part of uh a part to uh take out the gases from there. It's basically an exhaust.

[00:14:43]>> Mhm.

[00:14:44]>> So if that is blocked then it would create a big problem for the whole whole thing to function.

[00:14:52]>> Yeah.

[00:14:54]And uh it probably caused a landslide because of that too since it's a mountous region and large number of workers were trapped inside I guess.

[00:15:06]>> Indeed. Yes indeed. And you know major general coacher the fact of course now the moot point coming out though is that obviously we need our development we need infrastructure projects we need such renewable energy uh projects as well. uh but you know development needs to be balanced out as well with nature.

[00:15:25]It cannot come at the expense of nature.

[00:15:27]It cannot come at the cost.

[00:15:28]>> We can balance ourselves with nature.

[00:15:30]But >> yes, Dan, I'll just come to you in a second. Maj Koocher is answering that.

[00:15:34]Maj Koocher, how do we ensure that development does not come at the cost of human lives?

[00:15:43]That's a very important question because you know there is a a difference between uh necessity and risk because uh both are complimentary to each other. So uh though uh Raharak has mentioned uh in a fairly detailed textbook manner uh I would like to tell you the ground realities and my first part is whenever such missions are undertaken we have to have highly trained people and the second is the response time. So now what happens is that uh when you are going and constructing a tunnel I think the first and foremost thing is uh and it was mentioned by her also the localizer the local people who are available at that point of time. So now we need to and this uh while discussing the previous episodes also I was on your program and we felt there was a need to have a better training being imparted to the locals of that area so that the first response team because see these are very specialized operations. You just can't enter the tunnel and start walking inside because you have to be prepared yourself for the rescue. And uh a second important aspect is technology which I think she also made a brief mention about it. Technology we unfortunately are not uh we are we talk about technology. Yes, we we say X Y Z is available and we can do that. But are we really uh uh you uh is assimilating that technology into our systems?

[00:17:41]Because uh you see in the army also in the armed forces also we talk about technology how the legacy equipment has to be transformed into the modern equipment and the technology has to be there but are we doing that thing sufficiently because the people also have to understand the technology who are going to go inside and if you see the international episodes also there was a similar episode in Milan in 2010 Switzerland also there was a similar kind of episode and even these countries have now geared up with their own systems. So I think uh though NDRF has got localized units I don't know at what uh proximity this localized unit was available and one important aspect which I actually mentioned earlier also there was that the workers don't realize that they are being poisoned actually because it is an odless and you know smokeless kind of a gas and and they may think that it is a uh uh they're getting actually fatigued due to their normal you working but actually they are being poisoned and they even if they have the kits with them to uh you you to protect them at times it becomes too late. So I think we need to have some kind of sensors inside some kind of a system inside to actually forewarn us and these sensors have to be based on artificial intelligence they have to be uh uh sort of connected with those response teams also because a early warning even a siren of that kind that anything happening you see like in a ammunition storage I'll give you example you know big ammunition officer myself in our ammunition storage even if there is a spark we have a a sensor available which straight away goes off and gives a early warning and we have those kind of sprinklers available and automatically the fire extinguisher you action takes place so possibly in the tunnel technology I'm not expert of tunnel technology but I think this would be required there. You would like to have those kind of early warning systems available to you.

[00:20:15]>> All right. Okay. I'll have to leave it at that. My thanks to our guests for joining us. Let's uh slip into a short break. We're totally out of time.

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