Rescue workers in Uttarakhand, India, have renewed efforts to reach 40 men trapped inside a collapsed highway tunnel.
The men have been trapped for five days, and progress has been slow due to the need to drill through rock and soil debris.
Authorities have expressed confidence that an advanced drilling machine, flown in from New Delhi, will expedite the rescue process. The plan is to drill and create space for a pipe that can be used by the trapped men to crawl to safety.
According to reports, as of Thursday morning, drilling had penetrated about 3 meters of debris, with a total distance of about 60 meters to cover.
The trapped construction workers have been enduring confined conditions for five days, with two being treated for nausea and headaches. Despite the challenging circumstances, the morale of the trapped workers remains high.
The rescue effort is a collaborative one, with Indian agencies consulting experts from Austria, Norway, and Thailand. Technical experts who have dealt with similar situations in foreign countries have also been consulted.
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The tunnel is part of the Char Dham Highway, a $1.5 billion project aimed at connecting four Hindu pilgrimage sites through 890 km of roads. Since the tunnel collapsed, the trapped men have been supplied with food, water, and oxygen via a pipe, and they are in contact with rescuers via walkie-talkies.
A six-bed makeshift hospital has been set up near the tunnel to cater to any medical attention the men might need once they are rescued. The cause of the tunnel collapse has not been disclosed, but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes, and floods. The highway project has faced criticism from environmental experts, and some work was halted in January after hundreds of houses along the routes were damaged by subsidence.