Indian rescuers drill halfway towards workers trapped in tunnel
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Rescue personnel working to free construction workers trapped in a tunnel that collapsed in India's Uttarakhand state.
PHOTO: AFP
SILKYARA - Rescuers have drilled about halfway through fallen debris to reach 41 workers trapped for 10 days inside a collapsed tunnel in the Indian Himalayas, an official said on Nov 22.
The men have been stuck in the 4.5km tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it caved in early on Nov 12 and are safe, the authorities have said. They have access to light, oxygen, food, water and medicine.
Rescue workers have drilled through 32m of an estimated 60m that must be cleared in order to push through a pipe wide enough for the men to crawl out, said Mr Deepak Patil, a retired army officer heading the rescue effort.
The first images from the tunnel emerged on Nov 21, showing workers in white and yellow hard hats standing in the confined space and communicating with rescuers, after a medical endoscopy camera was pushed through a smaller pipeline.
The authorities have not said what caused the tunnel collapse, but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.
Efforts to bring the men out have been slowed by snags in drilling in the mountainous terrain. REUTERS
