India: Digging to Rescue 41 Trapped Workers Halted after Machine Breaks

Workers gather near the site of a tunnel collapse on the Brahmakal Yamunotri National Highway in Uttarkashi, India, 25 November 2023. EPA/HARISH TYAGI

Attempts to reach 41 construction workers stuck in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for two weeks were again stymied Saturday.
The drilling machine broke down late Friday while making its way through the rubble, stones and metal, forcing the rescuers to work by hand to remove debris in hopes of reaching the stranded workers, but the whole operation has currently ground to a halt.
Arnold Dix, an international expert assisting the rescue team at the accident site in the mountainous Uttarakhand state, said it is unclear when the drilling will start again.
“The machine is busted. It is irreparable,” he told reporters. “The mountain has once again resisted the auger (machine).”
According to The Associated Press, Dix said the rescuers would need to pull out the entire drilling machine and replace it to restart the digging. He didn't specify how much time it would take.
The workers have been trapped since Nov. 12 when a landslide caused a portion of the 4.5-kilometer (2.8-mile) tunnel they were building to collapse about 200 meters (650 feet) from the entrance. The mountainous terrain in the area has proven to be a challenge for the drilling machine, which had earlier broken twice as rescue teams attempted to dig horizontally toward the trapped workers.
The machine stopped working after it had drilled about 2 meters (6.5 feet) of the last stretch of 12 meters (40 feet) of rock debris that would open a passage for the workers to come out from the tunnel.