This handout photo taken on 13 November, 2023, and released by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) shows rescue workers at the site after a tunnel collapsed in the Uttarkashi district of India's Uttarakhand state. Photo: AFP / Supplied
Rescuers drilled about one-third of the way into the debris of a collapsed highway tunnel in India by Friday morning to reach 40 workers trapped inside for five days, officials said.
Drilling had penetrated through about 21 metres of debris, Devendra Singh Patwal, a disaster management officer, told Reuters.
They have to cover a total distance of nearly 60 metres.
Another officer with the rescue team inside the tunnel said the trapped men were doing fine.
The workers have been supplied with food, water and oxygen through a pipe and authorities have been in contact with them via walkie-talkies.
The 4.5km tunnel in the northern state of Uttarakhand is part of the Char Dham highway, one of the most ambitious projects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
Authorities have not said what caused the tunnel to cave in on Sunday morning, but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.
- This story was first published by Reuters.