The first images of 41 men trapped for 10 days in a highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas have emerged, showing them standing in a confined space and communicating with rescue workers.
A 30-second video provided by authorities on Tuesday showed about a dozen of the trapped men standing in a semi-circle in front of the endoscopic camera, wearing helmets and construction worker jackets over their clothes against the backdrop of the lights in the tunnel.
The men looked exhausted and anxious, some with thick beards, while a rescue worker outside could be heard telling them to present themselves one by one to confirm their identities on the walkie-talkie gear that had been sent in.
“We will bring you out safely, do not worry,” rescuers can be heard telling the men as they gather near the camera.
The video was shot through a medical endoscopy camera that was pushed through a second, wider pipeline of 15cm (6 inches) in diameter, drilled through the debris on Monday, authorities said.
Before the camera was introduced, rescuers had been communicating with the men inside using radios.
The 41 men have been stuck in the 4.5km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it caved in early on November 12 and are safe, authorities said, with access to light, oxygen, food, water and medicines.
Source: Aljazeera.com
