SILKYARA, India: Hopes for the imminent rescue of 41 men trapped in a highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas for nearly two weeks were foiled by a problem with the drilling equipment, an official said on Friday (Nov 24), but efforts to reach the workers should resume soon.
The men, low-wage construction workers, have been confined in the 4.5km tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it caved in early on Nov 12. Authorities have said they are safe, with access to light, oxygen, food, water and medicines.
Attempts to pull them out by drilling through the debris of rock, stones and metal and pushing through an evacuation pipe have been slowed by snags.
Rescuers had hoped to finish the drilling late on Thursday but had to suspend it after the platform on which the auger drilling machine is fixed was damaged and needed to be repaired, Deepak Patil, who is heading the rescue operation, told Reuters.