RACE TO RESCUE THREE FROM HP TUNNEL COLLAPSE IN LAST LAP

DHARAMSALA: Efforts to reach three labourers trapped for more than 160 hours inside an underconstruction tunnel in Bilaspur town of Himachal Pradesh made some headway on Saturday – exactly a week after it collapsed – with rescue workers managing to reach the tunnel’s roof.

T he t hree l abourers of the Himalayan Construction Company were executing the Kiratpur-Ner Chowk four-lane project in Tihra village when part of the tunnel they were digging collapsed on the night of September 12. Contact was established with two of them on Wednesday night and they were being supplied food, water and oxygen at regular intervals. The fate of a third labourer was unknown.

Bilaspur deputy commissioner MS Thakur said rescuers had managed to reach the arch of the tunnel and would focus on creating enough room to lower a worker in a caged capsule who would start cutting down the steel ribs used in tunnel construction.

Rescuers would not be able to reach the labourers without cutting through the ribs, Thakur said, warning that it would be a time-consuming process. “We are not certain how thick this part is. It will take time to cut down the ribs,” she said. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) have been deployed for the rescue operation.

The number of those trapped or buried would have been higher but most labourers of the evening shift had left and only the three labourers remained when tragedy struck last Saturday night. Around 275 metres of the proposed 1.2km tunnel had already been excavated by then. Authorities estimate that around 140 metres of the tunnel has been blocked by debris. Beyond this point is a cavity where the labourers are believed to be trapped.

Rescuers have maintained regular contact with two of the labourers -- Satish Tomar and Mani Ram – with the help of a remote camera and microphone, lowered through a horizontal hole dug through the tunnel. The opening was also being used to supply food, water and oxygen to them twice a day. “On Saturday morning, fresh stocks of khichdi, glucose, dryfruit and water were sent in through the pipe. Packets of ORS to keep the workers hydrated were also supplied,” said Dr Arvind Chopra, who is stationed at the site. They were said to be confident of a successful rescue.

However, the whereabouts of the third worker, Hirdya Ram, were not yet known.