The rescue of 41 construction workers from a collapsed highway tunnel in northern India was anticipated to take place later on Thursday after nearly two weeks of digging and delays. The drilling of the final stretch resumed following a six-hour delay due to a metal object in the debris damaging the blades of the drilling machine.
Atul Karwal, chief of the state-run National Disaster Response Force, expressed hope that the drilling machine would finish early and that the workers would be rescued on the same day. The workers had been trapped since Nov. 12 when a landslide caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance.
Uttarakhand state’s top elected official, Pushkar Singh Dhami, visited the site and spoke to some of the workers in the tunnel by walkie-talkie, according to Mr. Karwal. As of Thursday evening, approximately 46 meters of drilling had been completed with just 12 more meters needed to create a passageway, reported Kirti Panwar, a state government spokesperson at the accident site. Rescue teams plan to insert and weld together pipes to serve as the workers’ route to freedom. He added that once the pipes are in place, members of the National Disaster Response Force will crawl inside and bring out the workers one by one.
Rescuers resumed drilling horizontally through the entrance of the tunnel Wednesday after problems with the machine forced them to stop digging last week and consider alternate rescue plans. The mountainous terrain in Uttarakhand had presented a challenge to the drilling machine, which broke down as rescuers attempted to dig horizontally toward the trapped workers.
Relatives who had gathered at the accident site expressed optimism after being able to speak to their trapped loved ones, who had told them not to worry and that they would soon meet outside. The trapped workers received hot meals, made of rice and lentils, through a pipe earlier in the week after days of surviving off dry food sent through a narrower pipe. Oxygen was also being supplied to them. After a camera was pushed through the pipe, a video released on Tuesday showed the workers in their construction hats moving around the blocked tunnel while communicating with rescuers on the ground through walkie-talkies.
The state of Uttarakhand is dotted with Hindu temples, which has led to constant highway and building construction to accommodate the influx of pilgrims and tourists. The tunnel is part of the Chardham all-weather road, a flagship federal project connecting various Hindu pilgrimage sites.