Collapsed Uttarkashi tunnel had no safety exit, was built through geological fault: Probe panel member

The Uttarkashi tunnel which collapsed, trapping 41 workers in Uttarakhand 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. The men, from some of India’s poorest states, have been getting food, water and medicine through a pipe.

In the days that followed, the government asked a group of experts to investigate what went wrong, look into the construction of the tunnel in Uttarakhand state, and make recommendations for the future.