New Delhi, Nov 24, (dpa/GNA) – A powerful drilling machine being used to rescue 41 workers, trapped in a tunnel under construction in northern India, has broken down three times, the Australian head of the rescue operation told India’s Asian News Agency (ANI) on Friday.
“What’s happened is the auger machine, which is very, very, powerful building this tunnel through the avalanche material. is finding it really, really hard,” Arnold Dix said. “We’re only just metres away,” he added.
The drill had hit large machines on its way in, and these were blocking its path. Dix, president of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association, said.
“I don’t know when they are coming out, I don’t know how they are coming out, I know they are coming out. I just don’t know when. And we are not gonna hurt anyone in the process,” Dix said.
His team was “the length of a bus away” from the men, he said. Dix noted that the trapped men were safe, warm and provided with food and medications through narrow access tunnels.
The men, who were engaged in building a motorway tunnel, have been trapped for 13 days.
The 4.5-kilometre tunnel, which was under construction, partially collapsed on November 12 following a landslide. It lies in a region dotted with Hindu temples close to the town of Uttarkashi. The region is a popular destination for pilgrims.
GNA