Indian crews try inserting steel pipe to rescue 40 trapped workers from collapsed Himalayan road tunnel
- Excavators began drilling to fix a steel pipe that it is hoped will help rescue almost 40 workers who are trapped inside a collapsed road tunnel
- Crews have been removing debris for two days to carve out a path to reach the workers
Excavators began drilling with heavy machinery on Tuesday to fix a wide steel pipe that will help pull out almost 40 Indian workers trapped inside a collapsed Himalayan highway tunnel that caved in two days ago in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand.
The tunnel, which was being built on a national highway that is part of a Hindu pilgrimage route, caved in around 5:30am on Sunday.
Excavators have been removing debris for two days to carve out a path to reach the workers and had been awaiting delivery of a wide steel pipe which will be pushed into an opening of excavated debris to safely pull out the workers.
Uttarkashi district’s top civil servant Abhishek Ruhela said on Tuesday that “whatever is necessary for their survival is being done”.
We have been supplying food, water and oxygen to the trapped labourers and officials are in continuous touch with all of them
Karamveer Singh, an official with the National Disaster Response Force, said rescuers had established contact with the stranded workers using walkie-talkies, and in one case a written message on paper was sent through the pipeline to communicate with them.