Indian rescuers drill halfway towards workers trapped in tunnel

FILE PHOTO: Heavy machinery moves outside a tunnel where 40 road workers are trapped after a portion of the tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 16, 2023. REUTERS/Shankar Prasad Nautiyal/File photo

SILKYARA, India (Reuters) - Rescuers have drilled about halfway through fallen debris to reach 41 workers trapped for ten days inside a collapsed tunnel in the Indian Himalayas, an official said on Wednesday.

The men have been stuck in the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it caved in early on Nov. 12 and are safe, authorities have said, with access to light, oxygen, food, water and medicines.