Rescue of trapped Indian tunnel workers may take up to 15 days, official says

The rescue work at a collapsed tunnel in India’s northern Uttarakhand state where 41 workers have been trapped since 12 November may take up to 15 days, an official said.

In a major relief to their family members, a video of the trapped men captured by an endoscopic camera was shared by the Uttarakhand government authorities on Tuesday.

This was made possible with the help of a six-inch-wide pipeline that was drilled into the tunnel through the debris on Monday. Through this lifeline, the workers received their first easy-to-digest hot meals in nine days.

Anurag Jain, a government official at the road transport and highways ministry, said on Tuesday that the rescue operation may take between two to 15 days, according to News18.

The authorities formulated a fresh five-point rescue plan for the trapped men inside on Tuesday. The focus is now on the horizontal drilling that will create a shaft, said Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain, a member of the National Disaster Management Authority.

“This is not an easy challenge, so we are exploring every option. All the teams are working on it, that is the only assurance I can give. Can’t establish the timeframe,” he said, adding that the next 36 hours were crucial.

Rescuers have drilled about halfway through fallen debris, an official said on Wednesday. The men have access to light, oxygen, food, water and medicines. Rescue workers have drilled through 32m (105ft) of an estimated 60m (197ft) that must be cleared to push through a pipe wide enough for the men to crawl out, said Deepak Patil, a retired army officer heading the rescue effort.

First images emerged on Tuesday from within the tunnel, showing workers in white and yellow hardhats standing in the confined space and communicating with rescuers.

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.

The workers have now been trapped for 10 days inside the tunnel in the north Indian state. The men were working on the Char Dham highway, one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government, which aims to connect four Hindu pilgrimage sites in the mountains through 890km (550 miles) of roads at a cost of $1.5bn (£1.2bn).

The Uttarakhand authorities have also sought help from Thai cave experts who rescued children from a flooded cave in 2018 in Thailand. In addition to the national and state disaster management agencies, a robotics team from India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation is also present on the scene.

Workers had previously complained of nausea and anxiety. Antidepressants have been sent to the trapped men. The Indian Express quoted Dr Abhishek Sharma, the psychiatrist who is overseeing the mental health of the workers, as saying: “We’ve kept constant contact, suggesting activities like yoga, walking, and encouraging conversations among them to maintain high morale.”