Indian Workers Trapped After Site Collapse, Rescue Underway

AFP/APP

Dehradun: Rescuers have drilled about one-third of the way into the debris of a collapsed highway tunnel in Uttarakhand, India, in a bid to reach 40 workers trapped for five days, officials said Friday.

A powerful new drilling machine was deployed Thursday to accelerate the rescue operation. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami confirmed that drilling has begun and described the effort as being carried out on a “war footing.”

Evacuating the trapped personnel remains the top priority, with rescuers working tirelessly to ensure the safe removal of all workers. Supplies of food, water, medicine, and oxygen have been delivered through a six-inch-wide (15-centimetre) pipe.

Engineers are attempting to drive a steel pipe roughly 90 centimetres wide through the debris—wide enough for the trapped men to pass through.

Excavators have been clearing debris from the collapse site since Sunday, but progress has been hampered by falling debris and technical issues with an earth-boring drill. To boost efforts, the Indian Air Force airlifted a second giant drilling machine on a C-130 Hercules military plane on Wednesday.

India has also sought expertise from international sources, including the Thai team that rescued children from a flooded cave in 2018 and specialists from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute in soil and rock mechanics.

Rescuers are maintaining radio contact with the trapped workers as operations continue. Authorities say every effort is being made to ensure a safe and speedy evacuation amid challenging conditions in the Himalayan tunnel.