Uttarakhand tunnel collapse: Indian rescuers race against time to rescue 41 trapped workers

Scores of ambulances and paramedics are waiting on the ground as Indian rescuers continue to dig deeper to clear the final leg of debris that stands between them and the 41 workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel for nearly two weeks, AFP reported on Thursday.

Rescue teams equipped with specially fitted stretchers on wheels were prepared to pull the exhausted men through 57 meters (187 feet) of steel pipe once it penetrated the last section of earth, concrete, and rubble obstructing their escape.

At the site, emergency vehicles and a field hospital awaited the trapped men, who have been stuck in the under-construction tunnel in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand for the past 12 days.

"We have done rehearsals on how to get people safely out," said National Disaster Response Force chief Atul Karwal. "The boys will go in first. We have put wheels under the stretchers so that when we go in, we can get the people out one by one on the stretcher — we are prepared in every way."

Despite the preparations, rescue efforts faced setbacks, including more debris falling, concerns about further cave-ins, and issues with drilling machines, leading to slowed progress on Thursday.

"The 10 to 12 meters remaining... we don't know what can come up, but we are ready to handle it," Karwal stated, emphasizing that the trapped men were maintaining their morale.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami described the operation as being on "war footing," with a team of doctors, ambulances, helicopters, and a field hospital in place.

Syed Ata Hasnain, a senior National Disaster Management Authority official, compared the situation to a battle, stating, "You cannot put a timeline on it. In battle, you don't know what the enemy is going to do. Here, the land is your enemy. Himalayan geology is the enemy... it is very challenging work."

Worried relatives gathered outside the site, where a Hindu shrine was erected, and prayers were offered for the safe rescue of the trapped men.

"The day they will come out of the tunnel, it will be the biggest, happiest day for us," said Chanchal Singh Bisht, whose cousin Pushkar Singh Ary is among those trapped.

As a contingency, rescuers started blasting and drilling from the far end of the unfinished tunnel and prepared for a risky vertical shaft directly above. 

The workers were spotted alive for the first time on Tuesday through an endoscopic camera sent down a thin pipe, providing them with air, food, water, and electricity.

The tunnel is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's infrastructure project aimed at reducing travel times between popular Hindu sites and improving access to strategic areas along the border with China.