Indian rescue teams are intensifying their efforts to free 41 workers who have been trapped inside a collapsed road tunnel in the northern state of Uttarakhand for two weeks.
A new digging machine has been brought in to open a vertical shaft after previous attempts through another route encountered challenges just meters from reaching the workers.
Engineers drilling through 57 meters of rock and concrete ran into metal rods and construction vehicles, stalling progress just nine meters from breaking through.
The use of gas-cutting tools to remove thick metal girders within the confined pipe has proven tricky, leading to a pause in the drilling process.
“Work is now being done to cut and clear the blockage,” stated Abhishek Ruhela, a top local civil servant.
In the wake of the setback, rescuers are now working to clear the blocked main tunnel entrance without the use of the massive drill.
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The rescue efforts have been hindered by falling debris and repeated breakdowns of heavy drilling machines, necessitating the Air Force to airlift new equipment twice.
Ambulances are on standby, and a field hospital has been prepared to receive the trapped workers once freed.
A heavy earth digger is being employed to start a risky vertical shaft from the top of the forested hill above the tunnel. This new approach is considered as the final stages of reaching the trapped laborers.
Officials estimate that the proposed vertical shaft would need to be 89 meters deep, presenting a complex dig above the men in an area that has already suffered a collapse.
Simultaneously, work has commenced on digging from the far side of the road tunnel, offering a much longer third route spanning approximately 480 meters.
Rescue teams have stretchers fitted with wheels ready to pull the exhausted men through 57 meters of pipe if it can be driven through the final section of rubble blocking their escape.
The trapped workers were first seen alive on Tuesday, and rescuers have been providing them with air, food, water, and electricity through a thin pipe.
Officials, while expressing optimism of a breakthrough within hours, acknowledge that the timeline is subject to change due to technical glitches, challenging Himalayan terrain, and unforeseen emergencies.
Syed Ata Hasnain, a senior rescue official and retired general, described the rescue efforts as “like a battle” and emphasized the critical nature of the final stretch.
The workers, though trapped, have ample space in the tunnel, with the area inside measuring 8.5 meters high and stretching about two kilometers in length.
The area outside the tunnel has witnessed a flurry of activity, with worried relatives gathering and rescue teams praying at a Hindu shrine erected at the entrance.
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