Using a drilling machine brought in from Jaipur, the 50-member team made a vertical shaft from the hilltop to the roof of the tunnel.
Two of the three men trapped more than 40 metres underground in a collapsed tunnel in Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh for nine days were pulled out today to loud cheers and clapping from officials, villagers and their family members. A third man is believed to be dead.
Here are 10 developments in the story:
The men were working on a 1200-meter tunnel as part of a highway project, when a large section caved in on September 12.
Satish Tomar, Maniram and Hriday Ram were trapped under layers of debris and boulders.A team of rescue workers reached the tunnel this afternoon after digging through a hill. They pulled out Maniram and Satish Tomar but are still looking for Hriday Ram.
"Is it day or night?" was what the rescued workers reportedly asked when they were brought to safety.
Doctors who are treating Maniram and Satish say they saw debris falling on their co-worker.
Using a drilling machine, engineers spent days drilling a shaft down to the tunnel. To cover the last few meters to the tunnel, the team dug manually.
Satish and Maniram had been in touch with officials through a high resolution video camera that had been sent through a pipe last week.
The rescue team was challenged by incessant rain, sliding debris and mechanical breakdowns as they tried to cut a path to the tunnel.
Using a drilling machine brought in from Jaipur, the 50-member team made a vertical shaft from the hilltop to the roof of the tunnel.
Cashew nuts, almonds, glucose biscuits and water were dropped to the men after engineers managed to drill a thin 47 metre shaft to the tunnel.
Family members of the trapped men had camped at the site for days. Some of them were in tears when the drilling machine stopped working on Saturday. As the work resumed this morning, they were seen folding their hands in prayer.
Post a comment