Rescuers prepared to drill and reach 40 workers trapped in collapsed tunnel

Rescuers plan to insert steel pipes to create a passage and free the workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel since the weekend.

A drilling machine was assembled after three Indian air force transport aircraft flew its parts in from New Delhi on Wednesday.

Some of the 40 workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel in northern India began falling ill on the fourth day of rescue efforts, officials said.

Fever and body aches are among the symptoms reported by those who are stuck, Abhishek Ruhela, a magistrate and the top government official in the town of Uttarkashi near where the collapse happened, said.

Rescue teams have been working since Sunday to drill through the rubble and insert wide steel pipes to allow the construction workers to crawl out, but falling debris and technical glitches have delayed the efforts.

The workers, most of whom are migrant workers from across India, have been able to receive medicine, water and food, including chickpeas and almonds, through narrow channels in the debris.

Relatives and friends of the trapped workers have gathered outside the tunnel, and were growing frustrated and angry.

Indian state officials have contacted the Thai experts who helped to rescue 12 boys trapped in a cave in northern Thailand in 2018, state government administrator Gaurav Singh said, as well as the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.

Around 200 rescue workers have been using drilling equipment at the site, with plans to drive a 90cm-wide steel pipe through the rubble.

“These are challenges in such rescue operations, but we will overcome them,” disaster management official Ranjit Sinha said.

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