Image of workers inside the collapsed tunnel
AFP news agency reported on November 21 that images of 41 Indian workers trapped in a tunnel that collapsed during construction have just been released for the first time since they were trapped on November 12.
Rescuers are currently looking to dig new tunnels for the rescue, including a proposal for a tunnel nearly 500 meters long.
Looking exhausted, worried and with bushy beards, the workers peered into endoscopes sent by rescuers down small pipes that carried air, food and water.
"We will get you out safely, don't worry," rescuers told the workers wearing hard hats inside as they gathered near the camera, according to the footage.
Excavators have removed tonnes of earth, concrete and rubble from a tunnel under construction in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, after part of it collapsed.
However, rescue efforts were slow and complicated by falling debris and the constant breakdown of important heavy drilling equipment. Before inserting the endoscope camera inside, rescuers communicated with workers by walkie-talkie.
"All the workers are safe. We are trying our best to bring them out safely at the earliest," said Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
Mr Dhami said he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the trapped workers and the prime minister told him that getting the workers out should be a “top priority”.
One of the 41 workers trapped
Rescue teams are currently preparing two ways to reach the victims. One is to drill a vertical shaft from the forested hill above, estimated to be 89 meters deep. The second is to approach from the far side of the tunnel by digging a route more than 450 meters long.
The supply line was also widened to 15cm in diameter on 20 November. Rescuers hope to send in a drone to check the stability inside. Hot food was also brought in for the first time. A local official said 24 bottles of food and bananas had been brought in.
Foreign experts have come to study the solution, including Australian independent disaster investigator Arnold Dix, president of the International Tunnel and Space Association. Mr. Dix said that "these 41 people will go home", but did not estimate exactly when.
Source link
Comment (0)