LUCKNOW, India — Rescuers were digging through dirt and parts of a collapsed highway tunnel Monday to reach 40 workers trapped by a landslide at the construction project in northern India.
All construction workers are safe, police officer Prashant Kumar said, adding that they have been provided with oxygen and water.
He said rescuers had established contact with the trapped people.
The collapse occurred Sunday in Uttarakhand, a mountainous state dotted with Hindu temples that attracts many pilgrims and tourists.
Massive construction of buildings and roads has been carried out in Uttarakhand in recent years. The trapped workers were building part of the all-weather Chardham Highway, a flagship federal government project connecting several Hindu pilgrimage sites.
The number of trapped workers was confirmed on Monday by Rajesh Pawar, project director of Navyug Construction Company, which is overseeing the construction of the tunnel.
Rescuers inside a collapsed road tunnel where more than 30 workers were trapped by a landslide in northern Uttarakhand state, India, Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023.AP
This photo provided by the Uttarakhand State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) shows rescuers outside a collapsed road tunnel where more than 30 workers were trapped by a landslide in northern Uttarakhand state, India, on Sunday, November 12, 2023. AP
Rescue efforts began Sunday, when authorities pumped oxygen through a pipe into the collapsed section of the tunnel to help workers breathe.
“The team has advanced 15 meters (yards) into the tunnel, and there is still an additional 35 meters (yards) to go,” Kumar said, adding that more than 150 rescuers had used drilling equipment and excavators to clear the debris overnight. .
The collapsed part of the 4.5-kilometer (2.7-mile) tunnel is about 200 meters (500 feet) from the entrance, officials told the Press Trust of India news agency.
In January, authorities in Uttarakhand state moved hundreds of people to temporary shelters after a temple collapsed and cracks appeared in more than 600 houses due to land subsidence in and around the city of Joshimath in the region.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn