The drill continues to break down, so we have to dig the ground by hand.

According to Reuters, officials in India said the heavy drill brought in to bore through nearly 60 meters of rock and soil had a problem on November 24 and had to be completely withdrawn. They also said rescuers would have to demolish the last 10-15 meters of the road to reach the victims using hand-held equipment.

Forty-one construction workers from some of India’s poorest states have been trapped in a 4.5-km tunnel under construction in Uttarakhand state since a section collapsed early on November 12. Officials said the workers were safe and were being supplied with light, oxygen, food, water and medicine through a narrow tube.

Vụ sập đường hầm ở Ấn Độ: Máy khoan tiếp tục hỏng, phải đào đất bằng tay - Ảnh 1. — Scene of the tunnel collapse on November 23

A heavy-duty drill was used to bore through the rock and create a passageway to install a pipe wide enough to allow the victims to crawl in and out. However, the drill malfunctioned and broke on November 24.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said on November 25 that the damaged drilling machine would be taken out on the morning of November 26 so that rescuers could begin drilling manually.

Syed Ata Hasnain, a member of the national disaster management agency overseeing the rescue efforts, said the rescue operation was becoming “more complicated” and the process would be slower than when the drill was used.

"We have to support our brothers who are trapped inside. We need to monitor their psychological state, because this operation could take a very long time," he said, without specifying a time frame.

More than 10 doctors, including psychiatrists, were at the scene, talking to the victims and monitoring their health. They were advised to do light yoga, walk around the 2km space they were trapped in and maintain communication with each other.

The collapsed tunnel is part of the Char Dham pilgrimage route, one of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most ambitious projects. The 890-km, two-lane road connects four important Hindu pilgrimage sites and cost $1.5 billion to build.

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