Rescue workers are scrambling to free the construction workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel in Uttarkhand, after new debris fell on Wednesday in an area where emergency personnel were working.
About 40 migrant construction workers have been trapped nearly 200m inside the tunnel since Sunday, and while rescue crews have been able to get food, water and oxygen to them, some of the workers have fallen ill, experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, fever and vomiting.
Oxygen and food packets containing dried chickpeas, dried fruits, almonds and puffed rice have been funnelled to the workers through small pipes inserted into the cavity.
Contact with the workers has been maintained through walkie-talkies and relatives have managed to speak briefly to them.
“He said they are safe. He asked us not to worry,” said the son of trapped worker Gabbar Singh Negi on Tuesday.
Officials, who had hoped to start freeing the trapped workers on Wednesday, have brought in more sophisticated drilling equipment to reach them.
The Indian Air Force flew in machinery to the Himalayan town of Uttarkashi to aid in the rescue efforts.
Special teams from Thailand and Norway, including the one that helped save the children stuck in a cave in Thailand in 2018, have also been roped in to aid in the rescue efforts.
“The rescue operations are ongoing, round the clock,” said Mr Karam Veer Singh, a member of the rescue team. “We are making every effort to bring the men out.”
Uttarakhand Police director-general Ashok Kumar said that while confidence is still high about rescuing them soon, the new obstacles have slowed the pace of emergency crews.
“We are confident we will save the men but until then, we have to be patient and keep faith,” he said.
An effort to insert metal pipes through the debris to create a path for the workers to escape failed on Tuesday as debris continued to fall and the machinery faltered.
The tunnel collapse occurred following a landslide, and the entrance was blocked by concrete rubble, rocks and twisted metal.
The 4.8km tunnel was being constructed in Uttarkashi as part of the Char Dham road scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US$1.5 billion ($2 billion) flagship project that aims to improve connectivity across Uttarakhand, a popular Hindu pilgrimage destination.
Indo-Asian News Service
