Distressing images show men trapped in Himalayan tunnel as rescue attempts fail
Attempts to insert a tube for the men to crawl out through have failed. The men have been trapped for 10 days.
Images showing the men trapped inside a collapsed Himalayan tunnel have been released as the labourers hope to be rescued.
The 41 men, stuck in the tunnel for 10 days, and have been pictured for the first time since they were trapped.
Rescuers sent a camera into the tunnel through a pipe, showing the men wearing helmets and standing in a large cavern approximately 60 metres inside the mountain.
Through a loudspeaker, rescuers told the trapped men: "Don’t worry, we’ll reach quickly. Show us you’re okay.
"Take the camera out (of the pipe) slowly. Show us each person’s face."
READ MORE: 'I live in city with toxic air levels so bad it's like a baby smoking 30 a day
The labourers have been receiving food, water, and oxygen through these pipes after the entrance to the tunnel gave way on November 12.
Authorities in India have been assessing how to rescue the men.
Various plans so far have included inserting a bigger pipe into the rubble for them to climb through.
However, rescuers have been unable to forge a passage through the debris.
They did manage to insert a 53-meter (174 ft) pipe through the rubble late Monday, enabling key essentials to be sent to the men.
Officials said in a statement: “Confidence of keeping the lives of the trapped workers safe has increased manifold.
"After this good news, there is happiness and enthusiasm on the rescue fronts along with the workers and their families and now there is a lot of hope for other rescue options."
As a makeshift hospital is set up near the tunnel, a rescue does not look close.
Emergency responders first tried to dig through the debris, but this did not work.
After attempts to drill a hole to insert a tube for the men to crawl through also failed, authorities flew in a high-powered drill from New Delhi
Last Friday, a “large-scale cracking sound” as the drill was put into action. As a result, authorities stopped the work.
The latest plan, if deployed, would see rescuers try and drill through the rock from three different directions.
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
