Indian rescue teams are five meters from the 41 workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel in northern India, the chief minister of the state of Uttarakhand announced on Tuesday.
A steel tube wide enough to allow the men to pass “was inserted up to 52 meters into the tunnel and is expected to pierce [os escombros] at 57 meters (…) The rescue operation should be completed soon,” Pushkar Singh Dhami told reporters.
After several setbacks, military engineers and miners are working manually to open a path through rocks and rubble to clear the last stretch and reach the men, who have been trapped for 17 days.
A three-person team takes turns digging and inserting the last sections of a steel pipe wide enough for a man to pass through and get the workers out.
They have been trapped there since November 12, when a landslide caused part of the 4.5 kilometer tunnel they were building to collapse, about 200 meters from the entrance.
Authorities began providing workers with hot meals through a 6-inch-diameter tube early last week, after they had spent days surviving on dry food sent through a narrower channel. Oxygen arrives through a separate channel.
Uttarakhand is full of Hindu temples and construction of roads and buildings has been constant to accommodate the flow of pilgrims and tourists.
This tunnel is part of Chardham Road, a landmark federal project linking several Hindu pilgrimage sites.
Source: TSF
