Rescuers in India tunnel collapse work on alternative plan on seventh day

Members of rescue teams and security personnel warm themselves by a bonfire at the entrance of a tunnel where road workers are trapped after a portion of the tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 17, 2023. REUTERS/Shankar Prasad Nautiyal

SILKYARA, India (Reuters) -Rescuers trying to reach workers trapped for nearly a week in a collapsed highway tunnel in the Indian Himalayas began working on an alternate plan on Saturday, after the operation hit a snag the day before.

The men have been stuck in the hillside tunnel in since Sunday morning after it caved in and are safe, authorities said. The trapped workers have light and receive oxygen, food, water and medicines via a pipe, and can communicate via radios.