Rescue workers were able to talk to the labourers trapped inside the Uttarakhand tunnel since Sunday with the help of walkie talkies today. One of the labourers also spoke to his son for a few minutes through a pipe that was being used to pump in oxygen.
The men have been trapped since Sunday morning, when a portion of the 4.5-km tunnel on the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway collapsed. The tunnel -- meant to join Silkyara and Dandalgaon in Uttarkashi -- is part of the Char Dham project.
The workers, who managed to escape unscathed, are in a 400-meter buffer zone that lies behind 200 meters of rocky debris. Packages of food and water are being passed to them through a pipe.
Contact with them was established on Monday -- initially through a paper note passed down a pre-existing pipe. Later, walkie talkies were slipped down the same pipe, since cellphone reception from behind the rock wall is impossible.
It is not yet known how long the actual rescue will take. The National Disaster Rescue Force or NDRF, one of the multiple agencies taking part in the rescue effort, did not commit to a time.
The work is being conducted very cautiously, NDRF Inspector General Narendra Bundela had told NDTV yesterday.
"Regarding the amount of time to be taken, I'll not be able to comment just now," he said, pointing out that the team is progressing "inch by inch" to avert further fall of debris.
There was one such accident already, which set back the team. The rescue team had initially been able to cut through 30 meters of rocks but some debris again came down from the unplastered roof, so they could access only 14 meters.
"The soil is very loose... so when the machines start making the way, they have to be very careful (not to harm people or cause additional damage)... the work has to be very meticulous," he had said.
The rescue teams plan to drive a steel pipe three feet wide after drilling a hole in the debris through which the trapped men can crawl out.