Rescue Operation for 40 Workers Trapped Under Collapsed Tunnel in North India Enters Third Day

Rescuers are working around the clock Tuesday to remove debris to extract 40 workers who have been trapped for over two days after an under-construction tunnel collapsed in northern India. Officials hope to extricate them in the next 24 hours.

A 2.5-foot (0.76 meter)-wide steel pipe will be pushed through an opening of excavated debris with the help of hydraulic jacks to safely pull out the stranded workers, authorities said.

About 200 rescuers from federal and state disaster relief agencies are using drilling equipment and excavators to reach them.

The tunnel collapsed Sunday in Uttarakhand, a mountainous state.

Senior government official Ranjit Sinha said falling debris has been hindering the rescue operation and added they expect to free the workers by Tuesday night or Wednesday. He said all the workers were alive and that they supplied them with water and dry food through a pipeline

Families of the trapped workers are worried and have been following the rescue process closely.

Most of the workers stuck inside were migrant laborers from across the country.