REUTERS/Rahul Grover Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A tunnel which collapsed, trapping 41 workers in the Indian Himalayas this month, did not have an emergency exit and was built through a geological fault, a member of a panel of experts investigating the disaster said on Friday.
Rescuers are still struggling to reach the construction workers 12 days after the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel caved in.
Preliminary findings indicated the collapse may have been caused by a geological fault, known as a "shear zone", a member of the panel told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to talk to the media.
"Once the rescue operations are over, we will conduct detailed investigations to find out loopholes in the construction," the panel member said.
The tunnel was being built by the state-run National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation which is under India's Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
Persons:
Rahul Grover, Vishal Chauhan, Narendra Modi's, Hemant Dhyani, Manoj Kumar, YP Rajesh, Andrew Heavens
Organizations:
Media, REUTERS, Highways, Infrastructure Development Corporation, India's Ministry of Road Transport, National Highways Authority of India, Supreme, Reuters, YP, Thomson
Locations:
Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, India, DELHI