India tunnel collapse: Countdown to free 41 trapped workers with rescuers just metres away

Rescuers are just metres away from those trapped in the collapsed tunnel, after 11 days of efforts to free them. Credit: AP

Rescuers are just metres away from freeing the 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for the last 11 days.

Drilling had to be paused for a six-hour period after a metal object in the debris damaged the drilling machines' blades, however, it is now ready for the final stretch.

Workers became trapped on November 12, after a landslide caused a portion of the 4.5 kilometre tunnel collapse.

“The machine has started operating again in full swing. So we are hopeful that it will finish early,” said Atul Karwal, chief of the state-run National Disaster Response Force.

“We should be able to rescue them in today’s date.”

A number of heavy machinery are seen parked at the entrance to the site of an under-construction road tunnel that had collapsed . Credit: AP

Rescue workers have managed to drill their way through 44 of the 57 metres needed to reach those trapped in the tunnel.

Once they have excavated the final 13 metres, pipes can be welded and inserted into the tunnel, providing a route to freedom.

The mountainous terrain in Uttarakhand has proved challenging for the drilling machine, which broke down as rescuers attempted to dig horizontally toward the trapped workers.

The machine’s high-intensity vibrations also caused more debris to fall.

On Wednesday evening, ambulances and a team of 15 doctors were deployed to the accident site. Relatives who had gathered there said they were finally feeling optimistic, after days of anxiety and concern over the rescue and well-being of the workers.

How have the workers been receiving food and oxygen?

The first footage of the 41 workers trapped in Indian tunnel emerged earlier this week as rescue efforts press on. Credit: AP

Authorities have been supplying the trapped workers with hot meals, made of rice and lentils, through a 6-inch (15.24 cm) pipe.

Prior to the pipe being fitted, they had been surviving on dry food, such as nuts and roasted chickpeas, sent through a narrower pipe. Oxygen is being supplied to them through a separate pipe.

Officials on Tuesday released a video, after a camera was pushed through the pipe, showing the workers in their construction hats moving around the blocked tunnel while communicating with rescuers on the ground through walkie-talkies.

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