41 workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in India were rescued after 17 days
Forty-one workers who had been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for 17 days were rescued on Tuesday, November 28.
Local authorities in India announced that the 41 workers who were stuck for more than two weeks in a road tunnel under construction in India were rescued on Tuesday, November 28.
Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari expressed delight at the successful rescue operation and in a press release praised the “well-coordinated efforts” that enabled “one of the most important rescue operations in recent years.”
The building collapsed on November 12 in the northern state of Uttarakhand, trapping people at the site in the area of the tunnel, which is 8.5 meters high and about two kilometers long.
Precise operation
After repeated setbacks, military engineers and miners worked by hand to break through rock and rubble to clear the last section and reach the trapped men. A three-person team took turns drilling and inserting the final sections of steel pipe wide enough to allow one man to pass through and allow workers to evacuate.
Since the tunnel collapsed on November 12, rescue efforts have been complicated and slowed by falling debris and successive malfunctions of drilling equipment, which is important machinery for rescuing workers.
The trapped workers were able to remain underground for more than two weeks thanks to the delivery of air, food, water and electricity through a channel through which an endoscopic camera was inserted.
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