The southern entrance to the four-and-a-half kilometer highway tunnel, which was under construction, collapsed on November 12. Forty-one construction workers from India’s poorest states were prevented from cutting nearly sixty meters of debris.
A heavy drilling machine was brought to the site to dismantle it, but the equipment was so badly damaged that it was no longer fit to continue working. The last 10-15 meters had to be penetrated using hand and portable power tools – mentioned Reuters.
For this reason, rescue work took much longer than expected.
The unfortunate workers are doing well given the circumstances. They no longer sit in the dark, as they have sufficient oxygen, and are regularly provided with food, water and medicine.
To save them, a so-called drill bit, a heavy machine, was installed on the site, but the drill head quickly broke through the resistant obstacles. It took two days to remove the broken equipment. This slowed down the rescue, which then continued with manual drills.
A member of India’s National Disaster Management Authority supervising the rescue operation said that the operation then became more complicated and slowed down.
We had to encourage our brothers trapped inside. We monitored their state of mind, because the rescue operation could have continued for a very long time
– Atta Hassanein Sajid has been added.
Time was running out
After two weeks, the workers trapped in the tunnel, who without exception came from remote parts of India, were “very worried,” said Sunita Hembrom, whose 39-year-old brother-in-law Birendra Kisko was one of the workers. Almost completely isolated from the outside world.
My brother-in-law said he hasn’t eaten anything for the past few days. We were very afraid
Hibrom ignored the circumstances.
The authorities have not yet announced the cause of the collapse of the tunnel entrance. Landslides, earthquakes and floods are common in this Indian region located in the Himalayas.
A member of the expert committee investigating the disaster, who requested anonymity and was not authorized to comment, said the tunnel had no emergency exit and was actually built due to a “geological error.”
According to the rescue plan, a wide pipe had to be passed through the wreckage so that the trapped men could be brought out on wheeled stretchers through it, which has now finally been carried out.
** In India, rescuers are digging by hand to try to reach 41 workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel for 16 days.
The rescue operation suffered repeated setbacks * pic.twitter.com/f9JUyr2mQy
– France 24 English (@France24_en) November 27, 2023
At the same time, they prepared to dig a second vertical rescue tunnel to rescue the 41 people, if necessary.
Card and board game to eliminate boredom
cooked food, grillThat is, Indian fritters, lentils and vegetable curries were delivered regularly, and more than a dozen doctors and psychiatrists monitored their health condition.
They were advised to do light yoga exercises, walk more than two kilometers from the completed southern section and talk to each other.
One psychiatrist said they had considered introducing cards and board games to relieve boredom if necessary.
The collapsed tunnel is located on the Caesar Dam pilgrimage route, one of the most ambitious projects of the Narendra Modi government. It is planned to connect four major places of worship to the 890-kilometre two-lane highway, which is being built at a cost of one and a half billion dollars.
One of its tunnels is 1,710 meters long from the northern entrance, and 2,350 meters from the collapsed southern entrance. In order to connect the two sections, a 477-meter-long tunnel must be dug deep into the mountain, which is about 2,300 meters high.
At the end of the successful rescue operation, footage broadcast on local television showed joyful scenes in front of the tunnel, as workers smiled and began to sing after digging stopped. An ambulance was also seen entering the tunnel, and dozens of paramedics were loitering nearby, ready to deploy, but in the end there was no need.
Thai football team trapped in cave
In the summer of 2018, the rescue of a team of young soccer players trapped in a cave in Thailand attracted international attention.
At that time, thirteen of them fled the heavy rain with their coach into the depths of the cave located a thousand kilometers from Bangkok. An international rescue campaign was launched to help them, but the boys were not released until more than two weeks later. An experienced Thai diver lost his life during the rescue operation. After more than a year, tourists were able to visit the cave, and a museum was opened on the site.
(Cover photo: The entrance to the collapsed tunnel in Uttarkashi, in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand on November 24, 2023. Photo: Stringer/Reuters)
