(ANSA) – NEW DELHI, November 19 – Rescue workers racing against time to rescue the 40 Indian workers trapped in a road tunnel under construction in the northeastern state of Uttarakhand since last Sunday are considering deploying a new one Method to open tunnel escape.
Since Friday night, the horizontal excavation with which they tried to insert a 90 centimeter long pipe into the rubble falling from the ceiling has been blocked; Excavations were paused and never resumed after a series of loud creaks raised fears that the tunnel ceiling would collapse, complicating the situation. The second powerful excavator, which was brought to the accident site on Thursday with an air force cargo from Delhi, also failed after a few hours of use.
Bashkar Kulbe, the local government representative coordinating the rescue operation, told the media that the new rescue option, which has already begun, according to Indian news agency PTI, is to dig a vertical canal.
After visiting the site this morning, Nitin Gadkari, head of the central government’s Ministry of Transport and Highways, confirmed that “there are several other options to save them” and that “we will leave no stone unturned”, adding that the workers do so will be released within four days at the latest.
The rescuers are in constant contact with the men trapped in the tunnel, with whom they communicate via a thin steel pipe through which food, drinks and medicine are also delivered to them. (HANDLING).
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