Current:Home > Contact-usIndia tunnel collapse leaves 40 workers trapped for days, rescuers racing to bore through tons of debris-InfoLens
India tunnel collapse leaves 40 workers trapped for days, rescuers racing to bore through tons of debris
View Date:2024-12-23 12:08:40
New Delhi — Rescue workers were battling Tuesday to reach 40 workers who had already been trapped for three days in an under-construction tunnel that partially collapsed in India's Uttarakhand state. The workers were left stuck in the tunnel after the partial collapse early on Sunday, but officials have said they're safe and being supplied with food, water and oxygen through a pipe.
Part of the three-mile highway tunnel caved in around 5:30 a.m. local time on Sunday. Rescue workers quickly tried to reach the men by clearing the pile of debris with large excavators, but the machines couldn't clear an escape route as more debris kept falling from the unstable terrain.
"This is a very challenging job because as we clear debris more debris is falling from the ceiling, so we are also trying to stop that by using cement," Mohsen Shahidi, a senior National Disaster Response Force officer, was quoted as saying by India's national ANI news agency.
On Tuesday, the rescuers decided to switch tactics. They started boring horizontally through the debris to insert a steel pipe, roughly a yard in diameter, with the goal being for the trapped workers to use the conduit as an escape route to crawl through.
The drilling machine was still tearing through the debris pile on Tuesday evening. It was hoped that the tactic — known in construction and rescue work as trenchless tunnelling — would reduce the risk of further structural instability and collapses as it does not involve significant earth excavation.
Rescuer workers said Tuesday that it was difficult to estimate how long it might take to get the escape pipe in place.
What caused the tunnel to collapse in the first place remained unclear, and federal Indian authorities formed a team of experts to investigate the accident.
Work on the road tunnel, which is intended to connect the towns of Silkyara and Dandalgaon, began in 2018. It was supposed to be completed last year but was delayed.
The tunnel is part of a federal government infrastructure project dubbed the Char Dham highway, which is aimed at improving connectivity between four popular Hindu pilgrimage sites in India's northern Himalayan region.
The project has faced criticism, including over hundreds of houses that were damaged by subsidence along the construction route.
Some environmental experts have also warned that the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region, which is prone to earthquakes, landslides and flooding, should not be disturbed for such large-scale infrastructure projects.
- In:
- India
- Rescue
veryGood! (64376)
Related
- Chet Holmgren injury update: Oklahoma City Thunder star suffers hip fracture
- South Dakota vanity plate restrictions were unconstitutional, lawsuit settlement says
- 'Love is Blind' Season 6 premiere date announced: When do new episodes come out?
- Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Officially Becomes Highest-Grossing Tour Ever
- The Best Corduroy Pants Deals from J.Crew Outlet, Old Navy, Levi’s & More, Starting at $26
- US wildlife managers capture wandering Mexican wolf, attempt dating game ahead of breeding season
- Novelist’s book is canceled after she acknowledges ‘review bombs’ of other writers
- How the remixed American 'cowboy' became the breakout star of 2023
- Pete Alonso's best free agent fits: Will Mets bring back Polar Bear?
- Cyclone Jasper is expected to intensify before becoming the first of the season to hit Australia
Ranking
- Opinion: Chris Wallace leaves CNN to go 'where the action' is. Why it matters
- Marvel mania is over: How the comic book super-franchise started to unravel in 2023
- Federal Reserve may shed light on prospects for rate cuts in 2024 while keeping key rate unchanged
- Inflation cools again ahead of the Federal Reserve's final interest rate decision in 2023
- See Chris Evans' Wife Alba Baptista Show Her Sweet Support at Red One Premiere
- Russian man who flew on Los Angeles flight without passport or ticket charged with federal crime
- Teen fatally shot as he drove away from Facebook Marketplace meetup: Reports
- Andre Braugher, Emmy-winning actor who starred in ‘Homicide’ and ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine,’ dies at 61
Recommendation
-
Tropical Storm Sara threatens to bring flash floods and mudslides to Central America
-
Wu-Tang Clan announces first Las Vegas residency in 2024: See the dates
-
Bear! Skier narrowly escapes crashing into bear on Tahoe slope: Watch video
-
What to do if someone gets you a gift and you didn't get them one? Expert etiquette tips
-
Prosecutors say some erroneous evidence was given jurors at ex-Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial
-
Girl dinner, the Roman Empire: A look at TikTok's top videos, creators and trends of 2023
-
Britney Spears' Dad Jamie Spears Had Leg Amputated
-
Missouri county to pay $1.2 million to settle lawsuit over inmate restraint chair death