View of an under-construction tunnel following a collapse, on the Brahmakhal Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi, India, on Tuesday. Photo by Abhyudaya Kontala/EPA-EFE
India rescue workers scrambled to make progress on Wednesday to free construction workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel after new debris fell in an area where emergency personnel had been working.
About 40 migrant construction workers have been trapped more than 650 feet inside the tunnels since Sunday and while rescue crews have been able to get food, water and oxygen to the trapped workers, some of those trapped have started to become ill, experiencing symptoms such as dizziness, fever and vomiting. Advertisement
Officials had hoped to start freeing the trapped workers on Wednesday, but now are bringing 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.
“The rescue operations are ongoing round the clock each day,” Karam Veer Singh, a member of the rescue team, said. “We are making every effort to bring the men out.”
Ashok Kumar, the director general of Uttarakhand police, said while confidence was still high about rescue efforts, he admitted 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,” Kumar said. Advertisement
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 in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand when crews, who were building the tunnel through the mountainous reason when a landslide happened and the tunnel entrance was blocked by concrete rubble, rocks and twisted metal.
The tunnel is part of the government’s new highway project to improve connectivity to famous pilgrimage sites around several Himalayan peaks and glaciers in the Uttarakhand state.
