EBN- All 41 Indian workers who became trapped in a tunnel in northern India after a landslide on 12 November have been rescued, government source declared.
They were extracted one by one via a pipe 90cm (3ft) in diameter. It has been inserted through the rubble of the collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand state.
A tunnelling expert says rescuers managed to break through to the group at 19:05 local time (13:35 GMT). None of the men are thought to have been injured but are being given medical checks.
The rescue has been impeded by the necessity of having to cut through metal rods. The progress has also been slowed by loose soil and hard rock.
Authorities have been supplying the men with oxygen, food and water through a separate narrow pipe.
The 4531-metre Silkyara Tunnel is part of the Chardham Project of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. It will link the Gangotri and Yamunotri axis under the Radi pass area.
The Road, Transport and Highways Secretary Anurag Jain on Sunday said that the government has undertaken a five-option action plan to rescue the workers trapped at Silkyara Tunnel in Uttarkashi, since November 12.
There is a high chance of further collapse in the vicinity of the tunnel, warned an expert involved in the rescue operation.
