One of two rescue teams works in a tunnel where 40 people were trapped after a partial collapse at a construction site in northern India on October 12, 2023. Photo: Uttarakhand Disaster Response Forces via Portal Rescue teams work in a tunnel where 40 people were trapped after a partial collapse at a construction site in northern India on October 12, 2023. Photo: Uttarakhand Disaster Response Forces via Portal
The Indian Army reached 41 Indian workers detained for 16 days in a partially collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand in the north of the country, this Tuesday (28). Last week, authorities concluded the victims would be rescued “soon.”
The structure, which was intended to connect various Hindu temples beneath the Himalayan mountains, collapsed on November 12th.
Since then, the task force to rescue the workers has made slow progress due to falling debris and damage to drilling machines.
There is still no confirmation that the workers’ rescue can take place later today. On Sunday (26th), after the breakage of a huge drilling machine (see below), the forecast became more pessimistic: rescue work must be carried out only at the end of Decemberat Christmas, said Arnold Dix, a tunnel expert who works with Indian officials.
2 of 2 Giant drill broke during rescue work for 41 workers trapped in a tunnel in India Photo: Arun Sankar/AFP Giant drill broke during rescue work for 41 workers trapped in a tunnel in India Photo: Arun Sankar/AFP
Although a month’s notice was expected, efforts were not reduced. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami announced on Saturday that excavation of an 89meterdeep vertical opening would begin to try to reach the tunnel.
A new device will perform plasma cutting (a technique similar to welding) to remove the metal bars in the tunnel and attempt to place a large steel pipe through which workers can exit. What makes the operation more difficult is that everything happens above the victims’ location each incident can harm them even more.
Last Thursday (30) you could see for the first time since the collapse how the victims were doing (see video below). Through a camera in a thin tube (already used to supply oxygen, food and water), images showed the group exhausted and anxious.
In the tunnel, workers can occupy a space 8.5 meters high and two kilometers long. And communication with firefighters and family members was via radio.
Workers are seen trapped in a tunnel in India for the first time in 10 days
When the video was released by Indian authorities on November 21, the chief minister of Uttarakhand said that “all workers were safe.” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said that rescuing workers was a top priority.
“We will get them out safely, don’t worry,” members of the rescue team said in recent days.