9 DAYS UNDERGROUND
The Indian drama is still going on: Workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel were filmed with a medical camera, families are relieved
For 9 days, 41 construction workers have been trapped in a tunnel that collapsed during the construction of a highway in the Indian part of the Himalayas. The first videos have been published showing a dozen men standing in a confined space with helmets on their heads and talking to the rescuers. The images were taken with a medical endoscopy camera. The workers were trapped in a 4.5 kilometer long tunnel. Authorities say they are safe because they have access to light, oxygen, food, water and medicine, and work is underway to get them out. Family members are relieved by the footage. Indrajeet Kumar is the brother of the trapped worker and said that he felt great relief: “I am not worried about how long the rescue will take. My brother will get out safely and I am happy about that. Work is underway to drill an evacuation tunnel. Work is also underway to create safe places inside the tunnel, because this is still an extremely dangerous environment, so we are trying to make it safe for rescuers as well.
