Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue

Efforts to rescue 41 men trapped inside a collapsed tunnel in India have resumed after drilling was halted over safety concerns.
The workers have been stuck in the under-construction Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi since 12 November, when part of it collapsed due to a landslide.
Rescuers established contact within hours and have been supplying essentials such as "oxygen, dry snacks and water" through a pipeline "laid for supplying water to the tunnel for construction work", reported the BBC.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But more than 10 days into their ordeal, some of the men have begun to suffer health issues "ranging from dysentery to headaches and increasing anxiety over their safe rescue", said The Independent.
So far, the trapped men have survived on a diet of puffed rice, a chickpea curry called chana and dry fruits, said The Indian Express. But with a new, wider "six-inch supply pipe reaching them through the debris" on Monday, authorities are hoping to diversify their food supply with "bananas, apple slices, dalia [a cracked wheat porridge] and khichdi [a rice and dhal dish]", said the paper.
They will also provide the men with further essentials such as medicines, mobile phones and chargers, and have been encouraging them to participate in a range of activities in order to maintain their resilience and mental health.
"We've kept constant contact, suggesting activities like yoga, walking, and encouraging conversations among them to maintain high morale," Abhishek Sharma, a government-appointed psychiatrist, told the paper.
One man, named Gabbar Singh Negi, has been in a similar situation before, he said. "Being the oldest among them, he is ensuring everyone's confidence remains high."
Another government official said that the men were being sent multivitamins and antidepressants to help them cope with the ordeal. "Fortunately, there is light inside the area because the electricity is on," he told NDTV.
Work to rescue the trapped men was suspended on Friday after rescuers reportedly "heard a cracking sound while drilling", said the BBC.
Authorities stopped rescue work due to the risk of new landslides. The area is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.
However, rescuers resumed drilling near the mouth of the tunnel at around 2am local time on Wednesday (8.30pm on Tuesday GMT), said officials. Rescue teams have drilled around 39m (128ft) through the debris so far.
The BBC also reported that an alternative plan to rescue the men by drilling down vertically from the mountain-top is also "on track" according to authorities.
Officials remain confident they will be able to rescue the men, but there is little clarity on how long the operation will take. Officials told a press briefing earlier today that they hoped to be able to share some "good news" by tonight or Thursday.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Sorcha Bradley is a writer at The Week and a regular on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. She worked at The Week magazine for a year and a half before taking up her current role with the digital team, where she mostly covers UK current affairs and politics. Before joining The Week, Sorcha worked at slow-news start-up Tortoise Media. She has also written for Sky News, The Sunday Times, the London Evening Standard and Grazia magazine, among other publications. She has a master’s in newspaper journalism from City, University of London, where she specialised in political journalism.
-
5 costly cartoons about the national debt
Cartoons Political cartoonists take on the USA's financial hole, rare bipartisan agreement, and Donald Trump and Mike Johnson.
-
Green goddess salad recipe
The Week Recommends Avocado can be the creamy star of the show in this fresh, sharp salad
-
The Biden cover-up: a 'near-treasonous' conspiracy
Talking Point Using 'Trumpian' tactics, the former president's inner circle maintained a conspiracy of silence around his cognitive and physical decline
-
Starving Gazans overrun US-backed food aid hub
speed read Israeli troops fired warning shots at the Palestinians
-
Israel's Western allies pull back amid Gaza escalation
speed read Britain and the EU are reconsidering allegiance with Israel as the Gaza siege continues
-
Trump drops ceasefire demand after Putin call
speed read Following a phone call with Russia's president, Trump backed off an earlier demand that Putin agree to an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine
-
Pro-EU centrist beats Trump acolyte in Romania vote
speed read The mayor of Bucharest, Nicusor Dan, defeated hard-right nationalist George Simion in the race for Romania's presidency
-
China looms large over India and Pakistan's latest violence
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Beijing may not have had troops on the ground, but as South Asia's two nuclear powers bared their teeth over Kashmir, China eyed an opportunity
-
Kurdish PKK militia to disband for Turkey talks
speed read The Kurdistan Workers' Party will disarm after four decades of armed conflict with Turkey, putting an end to 'one of the longest insurgencies in the Middle East'
-
US, China agree to lower tariffs for 90 days
speed read US tariffs will fall to 30% from 145%, while China will cut its tax on US imports to 10% from 125%
-
Kashmir: India and Pakistan's conflict explained
The Explainer Tensions at boiling point in the disputed region after India launched retaliatory air strikes on its neighbour