INDIA TUNNEL RESCUE HITS ANOTHER SNAG
Rescue teams trying to reach 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for nearly two weeks stopped drilling again Friday after their boring machine hit a new metal obstruction in rock debris, further delaying efforts.
Devendra Patwal, a disaster management officer, said the machine was stopped after it had drilled about 6.5 feet of the last stretch of 40 feet of rock debris that would open a passage for the trapped workers to come out at the accident site in Uttarakhand state.
On Thursday, the platform of the machine became unstable while boring and the digging was halted, said Kirti Panwar, a Uttarakhand state government spokesperson. Drilling resumed Friday evening, Panwar said.
Panwar could not say how long it would take to complete the drilling and to bring the construction workers out. They have been trapped since Nov. 12, when a landslide caused a portion of the 2.8-mile tunnel they were building to collapse about 650 feet from the entrance.
As the rescue operation stretched into the 13th day, teams had drilled through 151 feet and needed to excavate up to 40 feet more to create a passageway, Panwar said.
Before the work resumed Friday, rescuers manually dug through debris to remove pieces of metal and prevent further damage, he said.
The rescue teams also are inserting pipes into the dug-out channel and welding them together to serve as a passageway. Members of the National Disaster Response Force plan to bring the workers out one by one on stretchers that have been fitted with wheels.
The mountainous terrain in the area has proved to be a challenge for the drilling machine, which broke down last weekend as rescue teams attempted to dig horizontally toward the trapped workers. The machine’s high-intensity vibrations also caused more debris to fall.
Authorities have supplied the trapped workers with hot meals through a 6inch pipe. Oxygen is being supplied through a separate pipe.