DEHRADUN: Rescue efforts, initially halted on Saturday, have resumed to save workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand for eight days. Concerns about the trapped workers' health prompted the decision. Officials anticipate it will take at least four to five days to free those trapped.

Drilling operations to pass iron pipes through the debris in the collapsed tunnel restarted yesterday. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, present at the site, announced the commencement of digging from the mountain's top to the tunnel. Gadkari expressed the difficulty of the rescue mission due to the thin soil layers in the Himalayas.

The Border Roads Organization and the Indian Army's construction unit facilitated the transportation of machinery up the hill. Construction of the platform to install the drilling machine at the top has begun. The tunnel's depth requires digging at least 150 meters downward. To prevent landslides, the drilling is angled at 45 degrees. Challenges such as rocks and iron bars in the tunneling process need to be overcome.

Efforts are underway to resume the rescue by passing iron pipes into the tunnel as a potentially simpler method. The drilling machine encountered a metallic rock halfway through the 60-meter-thick rubble. Ravi Shankar Badhani, Command of Disaster Management, mentioned the arrival of an oxy-cutting machine capable of melting metal and rock with an oxygen flame.

Using an auger machine, a 90 cm diameter pipe has been installed. It is hoped that by passing five more six-meter-long pipes, access to the trapped individuals will be achieved. Special stretchers from the disaster management force have been adapted to transport weakened individuals, if necessary.

Ranjit Sinha, Disaster Management Secretary, highlighted the presence of a lifeline pipe for delivering food and essential items. Additionally, a team from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office has reached the site.