Indian workers look on as rescue workers continue to operate at the site of an under-construction tunnel following a collapse, on the Brahmakhal Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi, India, 16 November 2023. Rescue and relief operations were underway after 41 workers have been trapped following the tunnel’s partial collapse on 12 November 2023. According to Secretary Disaster Management Ranjit Kumar Sinha, food and oxygen were being supplied via pipes inserted through the rubble. EPA-EFE/ABHYUDAYA KOTNALA
Rescuers in India have broken through a massive mound of debris blocking the entrance to a tunnel and have started freeing 41 trapped miners.
The miners have been trapped in the tunnel, in Uttarakhand state, since Nov. 12. Rescuers will now begin removing the men, one by one, through a pipe 3 feet in diameter. Advertisement
Rescuers have been sending them food, medicine, water and mobile phones through a separate, smaller pipe during the ordeal. Crews inserted the tube through the debris following the collapse.
The men became trapped after a massive landslide brought down thick, heavy debris that walled off the tunnel’s entrance.
Rescuers thought they would have them men out last Friday until a giant drill broke down inside the tunnel, and progress has been slow as loose soil and rock have made rescue efforts challenging.
None of the men have reported any injuries. They are expected to be wheeled out on stretchers once the last of the debris is removed.
