In the northern state of Uttarakhand, India’s government has summoned the Thai and Norwegian rescue experts who were instrumental in the Tham Luang cave rescue operation involving the trapped football team, in a bid to save 40 workers held captive inside a collapsed tunnel. A large tunnel, spanning 4.5 kilometers, tragically collapsed while under construction on November 12, trapping these workers.
While several others managed to escape, the fate of the 40 workers remains uncertain as massive concrete rubble and broken pylons block both ends of the tunnel. As per the New York Times, these efforts to free the trapped workers have now extended into their fifth day.
The desperate Indian rescuers have been attempting to drill through the ruins in a bid to establish a communication line with the trapped workers, but their efforts have so far been unsuccessful. Their plans took a new turn when they decided to install a pipeline through which they managed to communicate with the workers and provided essential supplies like air, food, water, along with a camera, thus ensuring their wellbeing while devising ways to free them.
Remembering the successful Tham Luang cave rescue mission in Thailand’s Chaing Rai province, where 13 children and an adult were saved, India’s government reached out to the Thai and Norwegian teams for their valuable insights. A statement stated, “The rescue team has interacted with the Thai company that orchestrated the children’s cave rescue. The Norwegian NGI agency has also provided specific suggestions for operations in the tunnel.”
The tunnel in question is a significant part of the Indian National Highway project aimed at connecting four pilgrimage sites within Uttarakhand. With an estimated budget exceeding 55 million baht, the ambitious project was supposed to be completed by 2022. However, unforeseen delays have pushed the deadline further to 2024.
This project has faced severe criticism, primarily from environmental activists, citing its susceptibility to geographical hazards like landslides, earthquakes, and flooding, concluding the area as unsafe. The site has also faced mass protests from the local populace affected by its construction and the subsequent delays in rescue efforts following the collapse. The situation remains grim, and the forthcoming days will decide if all the trapped workers can be safely evacuated, an outcome earnestly hoped for by all.
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