40 construction workers have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand, India, since the weekend.
A powerful new drilling machine has been assembled to create a passage through the rubble.
State officials have sought advice from international experts to aid in the rescue operation.
The trapped workers are being supplied with food, water, medicine, and oxygen through a pipe.
The workers are part of a federal government infrastructure project, the Char Dham highway.
Rescue efforts are underway in Uttarakhand, India, where 40 construction workers have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel since the weekend. The workers are part of a federal government infrastructure project, the Char Dham highway, which aims to connect four Hindu pilgrimage sites through 890 km (550 miles) of roads. The $1.5 billion project has faced criticism for damaging houses and disturbing the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region.
The cause of the tunnel collapse is currently unclear and is being investigated by a team of experts. The rescue operation has been hampered by continuous falling debris from the unstable terrain. In response, a powerful new drilling machine has been assembled to create a passage through the rubble. The machine is expected to drill a stretch of nearly 45 meters, with hopes of reaching the workers by Friday night or Saturday.
In the meantime, the trapped workers are being supplied with food, water, medicine, and oxygen through a pipe. However, two of the trapped workers have been treated for nausea and headache, and some have reportedly fallen sick.
State officials have sought advice from international experts to aid in the rescue operation. This includes the Thai company that rescued children from a flooded cave in 2018 and engineering experts in soil and rock mechanics at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.
The cause of the tunnel collapse is unclear and is being investigated by a team of experts.
The tunnel is part of a federal government infrastructure project, the Char Dham highway, which has faced criticism for damaging houses and disturbing the ecologically sensitive Himalayan region.
India has sought advice from the Thai company that rescued children from a flooded cave in 2018 and engineering experts in soil and rock mechanics at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute.
The tunnel is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's road project aimed at improving travel conditions between popular Hindu shrines and areas bordering China.