For the first time in 10 days, 41 Indian workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel were seen alive on television as workers worked to excavate new tunnels to release them.
One of the suggested paths is nearly a half-kilometer (more than a quarter-mile) long.
The guys, who appeared fatigued and nervous, with thick beards, could be seen staring at the endoscopic camera sent down the narrow conduit via which air, food, and drink are being supplied by rescuers.
“We will bring you out safely, do not worry,” rescuers can be heard telling the helmet-wearing men trapped inside as they gather near the camera, video released by state authorities shows.
Since November 12, excavators have been excavating tonnes of soil, concrete, and rubble from the under-construction tunnel in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand after a section of the tunnel collapsed.
However, rescue attempts have been slowed by falling debris as well as recurrent breakdowns of critical heavy drilling gear, requiring the air force to airlift in fresh equipment twice.
‘Top Priority’
Before the camera was introduced, rescuers had been communicating with the men inside using radios.
“All the workers are completely safe”, Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a statement. “We are trying with all our might to get them out safely soon.”
Dhami stated that he had spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the men, and that Modi had told him that it had to be their “top priority” to get the workers out.
Engineers had been attempting to horizontally drill a steel conduit just big enough for the increasingly frantic men through at least 57 metres (187 feet) of soil and rock that stood in the way of their escape.
However, the massive earth-boring equipment they were utilizing ran into stones it couldn’t get through.
Drilling on that route was halted on Friday after a “panic situation” was generated by a cracking sound, according to officials.
Complex Operations
Two additional routes to reaching the men are being planned by rescue teams.
One is digging a vertical shaft down from the forested hill above, necessitating the construction of a completely new track to the top for the heavy machinery required.
The suggested vertical shaft would need to be 89 meters (291 feet) deep, a potentially difficult excavation above the men in an area that has previously collapsed.
According to Indian media sources, the alternative option is to approach from the far side of the road tunnel, a far longer distance of more than 450 meters.
On Monday, the tube used to send supplies to the guys was successfully extended by installing a 15-centimetre (six-inch) pipe through which the camera was sent down.
A drone will be sent down to check the stability of the location where the men are stuck.
Hot meals were also delivered through the new pipe for the first time.
“We have sent 24 bottles with meals and bananas to the trapped workers,” top local civil servant Abhishek Ruhela told AFP.
Experts have warned about the impact of extensive construction in Uttarakhand, where large parts of the state are prone to landslides.
The 4.5-kilometer tunnel is part of Modi’s infrastructure initiatives to reduce travel times between some of the country’s most popular Hindu sites while also enhancing access to crucial locations bordering adversary China.
Foreign specialists have been called in, including Arnold Dix, head of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association and an independent disaster investigator from Australia.
“Those 41 men are coming home,” Dix told the Press Trust of India news agency. “Exactly when? Not sure.”