Australian expert who led rescue of 41 trapped workers in India 'like a happy father'

Arnold Dix, an Australian tunnelling expert, is being celebrated as a hero and receiving accolades for his crucial involvement in the rescue of 41 trapped workers from a collapsed tunnel in northern India.

Arnold Dix (centre) is a Victoria-based tunnel expert. Credit: Arnold Dix

While working in Europe, Mr Dix, a resident of Victoria, received a request from the Indian government to lend his expertise in a mission aimed at rescuing 41 workers who were trapped in a collapsed tunnel located in Uttarkashi.

According to media reports, the workers were trapped after a landslide caused a section of the 4.5-kilometre tunnel to collapse early in the morning of 12 November.

This handout photo provided by the Uttarakhand State Department of Information and Public Relations shows workers, rescued from the site of an under-construction road tunnel that collapsed, sitting for a phone call with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. Credit: AP

Mr Dix, the President of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA), told SBS Hindi that he initially provided advice over the phone but later, on 19 November, he was flown by helicopter to join the mission.

Arnold Dix (centre) with the rescue team in India. Credit: Arnold Dix

"I believe that around day 3 or 4, everyone realised that the rescue mission would be more challenging than we initially thought. Consequently, the Indian government asked me to mobilise and come to India," he recalled.

Under his guidance, the workers excavated a tunnel and participated in rat-hole mining to free the trapped workers.

"What we were confronted with was like a millions of tonnes of rock which had collapsed internally like an internal avalanche. As technical people, what we were confronted with was a very unstable condition because the mountain had not completely collapsed and it was in the process of collapsing," Mr Dix said.

"And on the other hand, we have got 41 people who are alive and well. That's really tricky because it combines an engineering challenge which is, how do we get in there?"

He emphasised that the workers' lives hinged entirely on the rescue mission members and any effort by the workers to intervene on their own could have endangered the mission and put their lives at risk.

Arnold Dix (right) at the site with members of the rescue mission. Credit: Arnold Dix

"There was no obvious answer, there was no textbook solution about how to save these lives. But everyone was there from army, government, air force, emergency authorities. And we did it," he said.

According to Mr Dix, the families of the trapped men found it unbelievable that their loved ones were successfully extracted through an escape pipe.

I think they (the families) were more traumatised than these trapped men. At first, they couldn't believe and, I think, they were sort of like seeing the living dead ... But eventually they were celebrating and cheering them.

Arnold Dix

Mr Dix, who has not yet met the men and their families, expressed that he felt like a contented parent simply sitting back and watching over the situation.

Arnold Dix (second left) with members of the rescue mission Credit: Arnold Dix

"I'm content that they are OK ... I am like a happy father," Mr Dix said.

His role is being commended across both India and Australia.

In a tweet, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he is "proud that Australian Professor Arnold Dix played a role on the ground".

Indian High Commissioner to Australia Manpreet Vohra thanked Mr Dix for his role in rescuing the men.

Australian High Commissioner Philip Green also tweeted: "Special commendation to Australia's Professor Arnold Dix who provided important technical support on the ground."

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