41 construction workers were trapped in a tunnel for a week. Now a vertical well was supposed to save the workers.
Rescue teams are considering drilling a new vertical shaft to help rescue 41 construction workers trapped in a road tunnel in India. “We are examining all options to save the workers,” said Bhaskar Khulbe, a member of the government, who was involved in the rescue effort, on Saturday night.
The Presst Trust of India news agency reported that preparations had already begun “to drill a vertical hole on the top of the hill”. Indian media published a photo showing an excavator removing soil on top of a wooded hill high above the tunnel.
Rescuers expected a period of “four to five days maximum” to free the men, Khulbe said, without giving further details.
The road tunnel under construction in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand collapsed a week ago over 200 meters. Since the accident, several helpers have been mobilized to reach the buried work. With the help of heavy equipment, attempts were made to drive a 90cm diameter steel pipe horizontally through the piles of rubble. The workers will eventually achieve freedom through this tube.
Supplied with oxygen, water, food and medicine through piping
Rescue measures were repeatedly delayed by falling debris and the failure of drilling machines. According to Khulbe, rescue teams are now considering drilling a completely new well.
Emergency services maintain contact with trapped victims via radio. They receive oxygen, water, food and medicine through a 15 centimeter thick pipe. There is no official information about the state of those buried.
Relatives of the prisoners who spoke to the men via radio said conditions were poor and morale was low. The construction workers were “in tears” and doubted the measures taken to save them, a family member told reporters.
According to a report in the weekly newspaper “India Today”, external tunnel expert Arnold Dix was asked to help. Dix told the newspaper that the tunnel was in “one of the most difficult areas” but he was confident that the construction workers could be rescued. “Let’s bring these 41 men home,” he said. (APA/AFP)