The tunnel the workers were building was designed as part of the Chardham all-weather road, which will connect various Hindu pilgrimage sites. They are getting oxygen through a separate pipe, and more than a dozen doctors, including psychiatrists, have been at the site monitoring their health. Many of their families have traveled to the location, where they have camped out for days to get updates on the rescue effort and in hopes of seeing their relatives soon.Īuthorities have supplied the trapped workers with hot meals through a 6-inch (15-centimeter) pipe after days of surviving only on dry food sent through a narrower pipe. Most of the trapped workers are migrant laborers from across the country. Arnold Dix, an international expert assisting the rescue team, however, told reporters he was confident the workers would be back with their families by Christmas, suggesting they were prepared for a longer operation. Some officials were hopeful that the rescue mission would be completed last week. Some locals offered Hindu prayers near the tunnel. But we are prepared,' he said.Īs the rescue operation entered its 16th day, uncertainty over its fate has been growing. 'We don't know what the drilling machine will have to cut through.
