Indian officials consider five new plans to rescue men trapped in tunnel

A new auger machine arrives at the site where road workers are trapped in a tunnel after a portion of it collapsed, in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 18, 2023. REUTERS/Saurabh Sharma

SILKYARA, India (Reuters) - Indian authorities were exploring five new plans to rescue workers trapped inside a collapsed tunnel in the Indian Himalayas after a week of failed attempts.

Forty-one men, stuck in the highway tunnel in Uttarakhand state since Nov. 12, are safe and being fed through a pipe, the authorities say. The cause of the accident has not been determined, although the hillside region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.