Wait goes on for Indian tunnel workers trapped for 14 days as drilling machine ‘irreparable’

Officials work towards alternative strategy that could potentially further delay rescue of 41 low-wage workers

The 41 Indian workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel for 14 days will have to wait even longer to be rescued as officials trying to pull them out have faced yet another unexpected hurdle.

A drilling machine that is being used to remove debris and install a pipe to evacuate the workers has broken down, an international expert aiding rescue operations said on Saturday.

The construction workers have been trapped inside the 2.8-mile-long tunnel since 12 November after a landslide in an environmentally sensitive region in northern India’s Uttarakhand state led to its collapse.

The extensive operation to free the workers has become an increasing source of concern for their families, who are anxiously waiting to reunite with their loved ones.

Officials have repeatedly said the workers will be rescued soon, but have hit repeated major technical issues.

“The machine [to drill through the debris] is busted,” said Arnold Dix, an international expert assisting the rescue team at the accident site.

“It is irreparable,” he said, while adding that it is unclear when drilling will begin again.

“The mountain has once again resisted the auger (machine).”

Rescuers have since been working by hand to remove debris.

A view of the collapsed under construction Silkyara tunnel in the Uttarkashi district of India's Uttarakhand state (AFP via Getty Images)

The teams faced setbacks earlier too with the drilling machine, but had made slow progress to reach the sensitive spot, about 650ft from the entrance, where the workers are stuck.

The mountainous terrain in the area has made it difficult for drilling machines to break through debris. Rescue teams had devised a horizontal drilling plan and inserted pipes into a dug-out channel, creating a passageway for the workers to be pulled out on wheeled stretchers.

The auger machine had drilled about 6.5ft of the last 40-foot stretch of rock debris to create a passage for the workers to come out.

About 151ft of pipe has been laid so far, according to Devendra Patwal, a disaster management officer, reported Reuters.

But because of the drilling machine not working any longer, government officials are now looking to begin an alternative, vertical drilling strategy.

Rescuers will have to cover twice the distance of the originally planned horizontal shaft, potentially further delaying rescue efforts.

A new vertical drilling machine was transported for this purpose to the accident site on Saturday.

While rescue teams have established an access road to the hill’s summit, they must now dig downward for 338ft to reach the workers.

The workers, who are migrant labourers from various parts of India, are being provided with oxygen, food and water through a pipe.

Doctors and officials have been in regular contact with them, and have continually assessed their health and well-being. But the anxious families of the workers are now camping at the accident site with the hope of seeing their loved ones soon.

The tunnel being built by the workers was designed as part of an all-weather road that aims to connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites in Uttarakhand.

The flagship project has raised concerns over the risks of construction and drilling in the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region once again.

Several towns in the region are built over landslide debris and have been facing increasing risks landslides, land subsidence and floods.