Rescuers in India hope to resume drilling to evacuate 41 trapped workers

24/11/2023 17:50

                Rescuers racing to evacuate 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for nearly two weeks are hoping to resume drilling on Friday after a mechanical problem a day ealier forced them to halt, officials said.
        
        The platform of the drilling machine, which became unstable while boring through rock debris, has been fixed, Bhaskar Khulbe, a former adviser to the Prime Minister's Office, said at the accident site.
        
        But before they can resume drilling, rescuers are manually digging through the debris to remove pieces of metal to avoid damaging the machine, said Kirti Panwar, a government spokesperson.
        
        Drilling was also paused on Wednesday after the boring machine hit a metal girder, causing some damage to its blades and a six-hour delay as rescuers worked to clear the obstacle.