Officials in Silkyara, India stated on Friday that the hopes of rescuing 41 men trapped in a highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas for almost two weeks were dashed due to problems with the drilling equipment, but efforts to reach the workers are expected to resume soon.
These low-wage construction workers have been stuck in the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it collapsed on Nov. 12. The authorities have assured that they are safe, with access to light, oxygen, food, water, and medicines.
Efforts to free them by drilling through the rock, stones, and metal rubble and inserting an evacuation pipe have been hindered by setbacks.
The rescuers had hoped to complete the drilling late on Thursday but had to halt after the platform holding the drilling machine was damaged and needed repairs, said Deepak Patil, who is leading the rescue operation, to Reuters.
Only the last 10 metres (33 ft) of the 60-metre (197 ft) debris pile is left to be drilled through, and work will resume once the platform is ready, he added.
The collapsed tunnel is part of the Char Dham pilgrimage route, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government’s major projects.
It aims to connect four key Hindu pilgrimage sites with 890 km (550 miles) of two-lane road, costing $1.5 billion.
Following the collapse, the government has stated that the National Highways Authority of India will conduct a safety audit of the 29 tunnels it is constructing.
(Writing by YP Rajesh; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
