In India, 40 workers have been stuck since Sunday on a construction site for a tunnel in the Himalayas. The authorities have launched a rescue mission to send them supplies and free them, but getting them out takes time.
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More than a hundred rescuers equipped with excavators are at work in northern India to try to free the 40 workers trapped since Sunday, November 12 in the collapse of a road tunnel under construction. Although delicate, work to dig an evacuation passage is progressing and rescuers hope to be able to extract the workers. According to Times of India, the operation could last until Thursday.
The most urgent thing is done, the rescuers managed to send the workers oxygen bottles and food. This was possible by propelling these packages into a pipe used, during the work, to bring water into the tunnel. Communication was also established, and the 40 workers were able to speak with their families, reports our correspondent in New Delhi, Sébastien Farcis.
They are located in a space 400 meters long, and would have light, which reduces the risk of claustrophobia. But they must be rescued quickly, because it is cold at 1700 meters above sea level and for this, several methods are used. Rescuers tried yesterday Tuesday to remove the tons of debris that collapsed in this tunnel, but it is not going very quickly. A new machine arrived to dig a hole and pass a 90 cm wide metal pipe through it, through which the workers could escape.
Frequent accidents in India
The accident occurred early Sunday morning near Dehradun, in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, as a group of workers was leaving the construction site and a replacement crew was arriving. Images published by rescuers demonstrate the violence of the landslide, including twisted metal bars among concrete blocks.
4.5 km long, the tunnel is intended to connect two of the holiest Hindu shrines in Uttarkashi and Yamunotri. It is part of the Char Dham highway project, led by the nationalist Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, designed to improve connections between four important Hindu sites as well as with regions bordering China. Experts have warned of the impact of construction sites in Uttarakhand, which is prone to landslides.
Accidents on major infrastructure construction sites are common in India. In January, at least 200 people were killed in flash floods in Uttarakhand, a disaster that experts partly blamed on excessive development.
( And hasith AFP)
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