India: Rescue Efforts Underway Five Days After 41 Trapped in Tunnel Collapse

On the fifth day since the collapse of a highway tunnel trapped 41 workers in Uttarakhand, northern India, rescue efforts are underway.

The partial collapse took place at roughly 4am local time on Sunday, during a shift change at the construction site. When Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached the site to oversee rescue operations, he announced that rescuers were able to establish a line of communication, and that all the 41 trapped workers were safe.

“Safely rescuing the trapped workers is our priority. Rescue operation is being carried out expeditiously. I want to assure the families of the trapped labourers that they will be safely rescued soon,” Dhami said.

While rescue teams were able to provide the workers with oxygen, food and water through a pipe, reaching them turned out to be more of a challenge. Two days after the tunnel collapse, a second landslide hindered the rescue efforts and injured two rescue workers. Machines deployed to drill through the rubble did not work, further slowing the rescue operations.

Protests Over Rescue Delays

As other workers and family members held a protest on Wednesday over the delays, a new and more advanced drilling machine was flown in from Dehli. It is now being used to drill through the rock debris, with rescuers planning to insert a pipe wide enough for the workers to crawl through once the drilling is done to create an escape passage.

Some of the trapped workers have reportedly complained about fever, body aches, nausea and headaches. They are receiving medicines through the pipes.

V.K. Singh, federal deputy minister for road transport and highways, said, “There is electricity, water and we are sending food. The new machine which is more powerful and speedy, is deployed. Our priority is to save them all. The morale of people trapped inside is high. We are very optimistic of bringing them out.”

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