41 Workers Rescued from Collapsed Tunnel in India Amid Warnings of Environmental Risk

The successful rescue operation, after 17 days of entrapment, underscores the dangers of large-scale infrastructure projects in the fragile Himalayan region, despite ignored warnings and court orders.

41 construction workers were rescued after being trapped for 17 days in a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand, India, part of a $1.5 billion road-widening project.
The rescue operation faced several setbacks, including the breakdown of two drilling machines, before a team of 'rat miners' successfully drilled through the remaining debris manually.
Environmentalists and scientists had previously warned that the road-widening project was dangerously destabilizing the already fragile Himalayan landscape, leading to increased risk of landslides.
The Indian government reportedly ignored these warnings and continued with the project, even after court orders to reduce the width of the roads to minimize ecological damage.
The tunnel collapse and subsequent rescue operation have highlighted the dangers of large-scale infrastructure projects in the Himalayas, a region prone to natural disasters and climate change.