Previously, on November 12, a 4.5km long tunnel in Uttarakhand state had a collapse while about 50 workers were working in it. About a dozen people right outside the tunnel door escaped, leaving 41 people trapped inside.
Although officials have not announced the cause of the tunnel collapse, this is an area where landslides, earthquakes and floods often occur. Efforts to rescue the workers were also hindered and slowed down due to difficulties in drilling through landslides in the mountainous terrain.
In the 30-second video released by authorities, about a dozen trapped workers gathered in a circle in front of the camera, wearing helmets and construction worker jackets. A rescue worker can be heard outside asking each man to present himself on camera to confirm his identity via radio equipment that has been sent in. (see video below – source: NDTV):
Authorities said the video was recorded via a medical endoscope camera threaded through a 15cm diameter pipe previously drilled on November 20. In the clip, the trapped workers replied that they were fine when asked about their health condition.
On November 21, rescuers continued to drill horizontally through the soil covering the 60-meter-long exit route to create a pipe large enough for trapped people to crawl out. Drilling operations were suspended on November 18 after a drilling machine malfunctioned and there were fears of a new collapse. Authorities are also working on five other plans to rescue workers, including vertical drilling from the top of the mountain.
According to psychiatrist Abhishek Sharma sent to the scene, he asked the 41 workers to walk in the 2km area where they were trapped, do gentle yoga exercises and regularly talk to each other to calm their nerves. be most comfortable.
“Sleep is very important for them. So far they are sleeping well and are not having any trouble sleeping,” Dr. Sharma told Reuters, adding that the workers were in good spirits and wanted to appear soon.
Another doctor at the scene, Prem Pokhriyal, said those trapped should avoid strenuous exercise because it could increase the buildup of carbon dioxide in the confined space when they exhale.
