Indian officials consider five new plans to rescue men trapped in tunnel

SILKYARA, India – The Indian authorities were exploring five new plans to rescue

workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel

in the Indian Himalayas after a week of failed attempts.

The 41 men stuck in the highway tunnel in Uttarakhand state since Nov 12 are safe and being fed through a pipe, the authorities say.

The cause of the accident has not been determined, although the hillside region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.

Rescuers had been drilling horizontally through the debris towards the trapped workers in the 4.5km tunnel until the auger drilling machine broke on Nov 17 and a new one was flown in.

Drilling was suspended,

and it would take four or five more days “to get the good news”, Mr Bhaskar Khulbe, officer on special duty for the tunnel project, said on Nov 17.

Now the rescue team is considering alternatives including a perpendicular tunnel with two proposed routes and insertion of a pipe 15cm wide as a lifeline, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters.

The trapped workers have received vitamin C and medicine, including anti-depression tablets, said Mr RCS Panwar, a health official involved in the rescue efforts.

The health department has set up a camp for health check-ups near the site and kept 10 ambulances on standby. REUTERS