The first images of the 41 workers who have been trapped since Sunday, November 12, in a collapsed tunnel in northern India were released today and show them standing in a small space, communicating with rescuers.
Authorities say those trapped are safe and have access to light, oxygen, food, water and medicine. However, they have not clarified what caused the collapse, although the area has seen many landslides, floods and earthquakes.
Efforts to extricate the workers have been delayed by the difficulty of cutting a hole in the debris from the tunnel collapse to install a conduit that will allow them to rise to the surface.
Authorities are simultaneously working on five different plans to free the workers.
A 30-second video released by authorities shows about 10 of the trapped workers standing in a semicircle in front of the camera, wearing helmets and safety vests.
A rescuer can be heard saying, “We’ll get you out safely, don’t worry,” and asks them to say their names into the camera, one by one, and confirm their identities via the radio they’ve been sent.
The video was taken with a medical endoscope camera, which was lowered by rescuers through a pipe about 15cm in diameter which was installed yesterday, Monday 20 November.
The men appear to be in good health and are responding to rescuers’ questions, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“All the workers are absolutely safe,” said Uttarakhand state chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, adding: “We are trying our best to get them out safely soon.”
Photo of the trapped workers, taken with an endoscopic camera
(Source: Department of Information and Public Relation (DIPR) Uttarakhand / AFP)
Today rescuers are expected to continue efforts to drill a hole through the rubble to fit a conduit large enough to free the workers.
Work was suspended on Friday 17 November due to the damage to a piece of machinery and concerns about another landslide.
Authorities are simultaneously working on five different plans to free the workers.
Abhishek Sharma, a psychiatrist, went to the scene of the accident and asked the 41 men to walk in their space, do light yoga exercises and talk to each other.
A field hospital has also been set up near where they are trapped and ambulances are there to give them first aid once they get out.
The tunnel would connect the two most important Hindu shrines
The road tunnel under construction partially collapsed on November 12, trapping the 40 workers in a space about 400 meters long.
The 4.5 km long tunnel under construction on a highway, part of a Hindu pilgrimage route in the state of Uttarakhand, collapsed around 5:30 am on Sunday.
At the time of the collapse, there were 50 to 60 workers inside the tunnel, of which about 10 to 20 had started to come out as their shift was over and thus managed to escape.
This tunnel would connect the two most important Hindu shrines located in Uttarkasi and Yamunotri. The San Dham Pilgrimage Highway is one of the most ambitious plans of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It aims to connect four Hindu sites in northern India with an 889km two-lane highway at a total cost of $1.5 billion.
Experts had warned of the impact of construction sites in the state of Uttarakhand, where landslides are common.
With information from APE BEE
