Indian rescue teams are standing five meters away from 41 workers trapped in a road tunnel that collapsed in northern India, the chief minister of Uttarakhand state announced on Tuesday.
A steel pipe wide enough for men to pass through “was brought into the tunnel up to 52 meters and had to be drilled [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 clear a path through the rocks and rubble to clear the final section and reach the men, who have been trapped for 17 days.
A team of three people take turns digging the final sections of a steel pipe wide enough for a man to pass through and for workers to be removed.
They have been stuck there since November 12, when a landslide destroyed part of the 4.5 kilometer tunnel they were building, about 200 meters from the entrance.
Authorities began providing hot meals to workers through a 6-inch diameter tube early last week after they had to survive for days on dry food sent through a narrower channel. Oxygen enters through a separate channel.
Uttarakhand is full of Hindu temples and roads and buildings have been constantly constructed to accommodate the flow of pilgrims and tourists.
This tunnel is part of the Chardham Road, a historic federal project connecting several Hindu pilgrimage sites.
Source: DN
