India Tunnel Collapse: Rescuers Dig Through Debris To Reach 40 Workers Who Remain Trapped

Around 40 workers have been trapped inside after a section of an under-construction tunnel in India collapsed Sunday morning. Rescuers managed to establish contact with the trapped laborers and give them food and water, officials said Monday.

The under-construction road tunnel, roughly 2.8 miles long, was located in the mountainous north Indian state of Uttarakhand. Around 40 laborers were trapped inside when a portion of the tunnel collapsed about 500 feet (200 meters) from the entrance after a landslide Sunday, reports said. The construction works were overseen by the Hydroelectricity Investment and Development Company (HIDCL).

Huge piles of concrete were seen blocking the wide tunnel as federal and state disaster relief agencies began rescue operations. Excavators and heavy machinery are being used to drill through the concrete to reach the workers.

Rescuers managed to establish communication through walkie-talkies. Officials said the trapped workers are safe and have access to oxygen cylinders. Compressors were used to supply food packets to them.

A narrow opening was made to supply additional oxygen to the workers through a water pipeline while rescue operations were in full swing.

“Oxygen is being supplied through the debris, but more rubble is coming down as rescuers try to remove the obstruction,” state disaster response official Durgesh Rathodi told AFP news agency.

Officials assured the workers were not trapped underneath the debris or crammed together inside the tunnel. They had a space of about 0.25 miles of space to “walk and breathe.”

“Oxygen supply is provided using temporary pipes, we are giving our best and making all possible efforts. As of now, the situation is under control and not life-threatening,” State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) Inspector Jagdamba Bijalwan, who is leading the operation, told local news outlet The Indian Express.

“The good thing is that the laborers are not crammed in, and have a buffer of around 400 meters to walk and breathe. They have enough oxygen to easily survive for over eight to 10 hours, and that should give us enough time to rescue them,” added District Disaster Management Officer Devendra Patwal.

Officials remained optimistic about the rescue efforts and said bringing the workers to safety was the first priority.

”How the incident occurred and who was responsible for the same will be looked into later,” a senior district official said.

Uttarakhand, a popular tourist destination in India, has seen many big construction projects, including buildings and roadways, in recent years to support the huge flow of tourists every year.

Experts say unplanned and uncontrolled construction works have made the state a disaster-prone region. In January, hundreds of people were moved to temporary shelters after a temple collapsed and cracks appeared in over 600 houses because of the sinking of land in the town of Joshimath.

In 2021, more than 200 people, most of them construction workers, were killed after a glacial lake burst triggered a flash flood at a hydro-power project construction site.