Workers Trapped in Tunnel in India Given Hot Meal
2023-11-22
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1The 41 workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for over a week are finally getting hot meals on Tuesday.
2The meals of rice and lentils are sent through a newly placed steel pipe as rescuers are working on a plan to dig them out vertically.
3For the last nine days, the workers survived with dry food sent through a smaller pipe.
4They also received a supply of oxygen through another one.
5Officials released a video on Tuesday showing the workers in their safety hats moving around the blocked tunnel.
6It also showed them communicating with rescuers on the ground through small radio equipment called walkie-talkies.
7Family members said they felt better after seeing images of their loved ones.
8The tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand state.
9It is a mountainous area that has been difficult for the drilling machine.
10It broke down as rescuers attempted to dig horizontally toward the trapped workers.
11Movement from the machine has also caused more rocks to fall. After more rocks fell, officials suspended rescue operations for a moment.
12Currently, rescuers are creating a path to the top of the hill from where they will dig vertically.
13Officials said Monday that from the vertical direction, drilling to the tunnel will take a few days and rocks could fall during the digging.
14Rescue teams will need to dig 103 meters downwards to reach the trapped workers, nearly double the distance.
15Officials said they would also continue digging horizontally from the mouth of the tunnel toward the workers.
16The workers have been trapped since November 12.
17A landslide may have caused part of the tunnel they were building to collapse 200 meters from the opening.
18Mahmood Ahmed is head of the state-run National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
19He said, "We might be able to get a breakthrough in the next 30-40 hours."
20I'm Gregory Stachel.
1The 41 workers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in northern India for over a week are finally getting hot meals on Tuesday. The meals of rice and lentils are sent through a newly placed steel pipe as rescuers are working on a plan to dig them out vertically. 2For the last nine days, the workers survived with dry food sent through a smaller pipe. They also received a supply of oxygen through another one. 3Officials released a video on Tuesday showing the workers in their safety hats moving around the blocked tunnel. It also showed them communicating with rescuers on the ground through small radio equipment called walkie-talkies. Family members said they felt better after seeing images of their loved ones. 4The tunnel collapsed in Uttarakhand state. It is a mountainous area that has been difficult for the drilling machine. It broke down as rescuers attempted to dig horizontally toward the trapped workers. Movement from the machine has also caused more rocks to fall. After more rocks fell, officials suspended rescue operations for a moment. 5Currently, rescuers are creating a path to the top of the hill from where they will dig vertically. Officials said Monday that from the vertical direction, drilling to the tunnel will take a few days and rocks could fall during the digging. Rescue teams will need to dig 103 meters downwards to reach the trapped workers, nearly double the distance. 6Officials said they would also continue digging horizontally from the mouth of the tunnel toward the workers. 7The workers have been trapped since November 12. A landslide may have caused part of the tunnel they were building to collapse 200 meters from the opening. 8Mahmood Ahmed is head of the state-run National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation. He said, "We might be able to get a breakthrough in the next 30-40 hours." 9I'm Gregory Stachel. 10The Associated Press reported this story. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 11_________________________________________________ 12Words in This Story 13tunnel - n. a passage that goes under the ground or through a hill 14vertical - adj. positioned up and down rather than from side to side: going straight up 15drill - n. a tool used for making holes in hard substances 16horizontally - adj. positioned from side to side rather than up and down: parallel to the ground 17landslide - n. a large mass of rocks and earth that suddenly and quickly moves down the side of a mountain or hill 18breakthrough - n. a person's first important success