As workers sought to develop fresh pathways to liberate the 41 Indian laborers who had been trapped in a collapsed road tunnel for ten days, they were finally spotted alive on camera on Tuesday.
The tired and nervous men with thick facial hair were observed staring down an endoscopic camera sent by rescuers into the narrow pipe that supplied food, water, and oxygen.
“We will bring you out safely, do not worry,” rescuers can be heard telling the helmet-wearing men trapped inside as they gather near the camera, video released by state authorities shows.
Excavators have been removing tons of earth, concrete, and rubble from the under-construction tunnel in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand since November 12, after a portion of the tunnel collapsed.
But rescue efforts have been slow, complicated by falling debris as well as repeated breakdowns of crucial heavy drilling machines, with the Air Force having to twice airlift in new kit.
Before the camera was introduced, rescuers had been communicating with the men inside using radios.
“All the workers are completely safe,” Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a statement. “We are trying with all our might to get them out safely soon.”
The tired and nervous men with thick facial hair were observed staring down an endoscopic camera sent by rescuers into the narrow pipe that supplied food, water, and oxygen.
“We will bring you out safely, do not worry,” rescuers can be heard telling the helmet-wearing men trapped inside as they gather near the camera, video released by state authorities shows.
Excavators have been removing tons of earth, concrete, and rubble from the under-construction tunnel in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand since November 12, after a portion of the tunnel collapsed.
But rescue efforts have been slow, complicated by falling debris as well as repeated breakdowns of crucial heavy drilling machines, with the Air Force having to twice airlift in new kit.
Before the camera was introduced, rescuers had been communicating with the men inside using radios.
“All the workers are completely safe,” Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said in a statement. “We are trying with all our might to get them out safely soon.”
