ROAD BLOCK

Rescue of Workers Trapped for Weeks Delayed as Drill Breaks

The machine was close to reaching the 41 workers trapped but now rescuers may have to find another way to get them out.

Drilling to rescue the 41 construction workers trapped in a collapsed tunnel in India has once again hit a literal block in the road as the drilling machine broke down while clearing debris on Friday. Arnold Dix, an expert helping the rescue team, said the machine is irreparable and that it remains unclear when drilling can resume. The workers have been stuck since Nov. 12 after a landslide collapsed the tunnel they were working in. The machine stopped working after drilling 2 out of the 12 meters left to reach the workers. A new machine was brought to the site on Saturday for a vertical dig, which is an alternative rescue plan that would require 103 meters of digging. In the meantime, workers have been supplied with food and oxygen through narrow pipes as many of their families camp outside the site waiting for them.