NEW RESCUE PLAN FOR INDIA WORKERS TRAPPED IN TUNNEL

Rescuers in India are looking at fresh options to save the 41 workers trapped in a tunnel for the past eight days.

New plans had to be conceived after work to push in metal pipes through the debris wall was halted and rescue teams withdrawn after a cracking sound was heard from the tunnel on Friday.

Explaining the latest rescue effort, Uttarakhand Disaster Management Secretary Ranjit Sinha say they are working on two side tunnels by the side of the main tunnel for escape”.

So far, rescuers have been drilling inwards from the mouth of the tunnel. Efforts are now also on to drill from another side of the tunnel to reach the workers.

Federal Highways and Roads Minister, Nitin Gadkari visited the site on Sunday and said rescue operations could go on for two to three days.

The under-construction tunnel caved in after a landslide on the 12^th of November in the northern state’s Uttarkashi district.

The Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi is part of the federal government’s ambitious highway project to improve links between famous pilgrimage spots in Uttarakhand.

The mountainous state, where several Himalayan peaks and glaciers are located, is home to some of the holiest sites for Hindus.