Inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue

Rescue workers in orange jumpsuits and helmets at the entrance to the Silkyara road tunnel

Rescue workers enter the under-construction Silkyara road tunnel

(Image credit: Arun Sankar / AFP))

published 22 November 2023

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.

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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."

Work to rescue the trapped men was suspended on Friday after rescuers reportedly "heard a cracking sound while drilling", said the BBC.

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.

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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.