The rescue of 40 workers stranded in a tunnel under construction in northern India since Sunday could take up to “48 hours” due to the difficulty of the operation, the rescue official said on Friday.
• Also read: India: 40 workers trapped in tunnel collapse are ‘alive’
“At the current pace, it will still take 40 to 48 hours to withdraw the workers,” official Deepak Patil told the press.
A powerful excavator started drilling on Thursday but only advanced 24 meters in a “safe” manner and there was 36 meters left, said Anshu Manish Khalko, director of the national infrastructure company.
AFP
The aim is to insert a steel pipe with a diameter of around 90 centimeters through which the workers who are still alive can be evacuated.
The tunnel under construction partially collapsed on November 12, trapping the 40 workers in a space about 400 meters long.
The rescue workers, who can communicate with them via radio, sent them medicine, food and oxygen via pipes.
Some of the trapped workers were reportedly suffering from vomiting, headaches, anxiety and stomach problems, nurse BS Pokhriyal told the Indian Express newspaper.
A field hospital was set up near the site and ambulances were made available to care for the trapped workers after their release.
AFP
The 4.5 km long tunnel was built between the cities of Silkyara and Dandalgaon to connect Uttarkashi and Yamunotri, two of the holiest Hindu shrines.
It is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s road project aimed at improving travel conditions between some of the country’s most popular Hindu shrines as well as border areas with China.