Efforts Intensify As 40 Workers Await Rescue in Uttarkashi Tunnel Tragedy

Efforts are underway to rescue 40 workers trapped in a tunnel under construction in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand.

The workers have been stuck under rubble on a 2-km stretch since 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, receiving oxygen and food through narrow tubes.

The efforts resumed on Thursday, as authorities proceeded with a plan to drill through rubble and insert a series of pipes through which the labourers could crawl out.

A prior drilling attempt was halted when a smaller auger encountered falling debris, causing obstructions and equipment damage.

The new 25-tonne U.S.-made auger, assembled on-site in Uttarkashi after being transported in three parts by an Indian Air Force aircraft from New Delhi, fell short of the expected pace on Thursday.

On Sunday, a landslip caused the collapse of the said section of the tunnel connecting Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarakhand, a crucial component of the ambitious Char Dham all-weather road project.