07:20
India, 14 meters from freedom for the 41 trapped in the tunnel
There are still fourteen meters of rock separating the 41 Indian workers imprisoned for almost two weeks in a tunnel under construction in the Indian state of Uttarakhand from freedom. The machinery used by the rescuers, who yesterday morning had announced the liberation as imminent, were blocked again in the evening. The stop was the third since the start of operations, and was decided when failures appeared on the platform on which the powerful drill operates.
Atul Karval, head of the National Disaster Response Force, said he was confident, “today should be the decisive day,” he said. Once the last meter of the passage has been cleared, the workers will be taken outside by rescuers on stretchers, to avoid trauma along the way. Among the medical team of consultants summoned to the site there are also some psychologists: today these experts have suggested that the 41 men be provided with food and drinks, as well as board games, cards and chessboards: “In situations like these it is essential to maintain mental balance.
In the drama, the workers were helped by the fact that they found themselves imprisoned in a very large space, almost 2 km of tunnel, in which they were able to move, do exercises, practice yoga, without suffering from claustrophobia. Furthermore, since the electricity cables were not damaged by the landslide that blocked them, they have always had strong lighting; in these cases not finding yourself in the dark is of great help.” While the drill resumes drilling the horizontal cylindrical path that will allow the men to be extracted, outside the tunnel entrance there is an entire world in effervescence: next to the rescuers’ stations, the televisions, the ambulances waiting for the workers to transfer them in the nearest hospital, at the tents where dozens of relatives anxiously await to embrace their loved ones again, yesterday the inhabitants of the nearby village created an altar, carrying in procession the statue of the god who usually resides in their temple.