In Uttarakhand, Rescuers Drill Halfway Towards Workers Trapped In Tunnel

Rescue workers have drilled through 32 metres of an estimated 60 metres that must be cleared in order to push through a pipe wide enough for the men to crawl out.

Rescuers have drilled about halfway through fallen debris to reach 41 workers trapped for ten days inside a collapsed tunnel in Uttarakhand, an official said on Wednesday.

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

Rescue workers have drilled through 32 metres of an estimated 60 metres that must be cleared in order to push through a pipe wide enough for the men to crawl out, said Deepak Patil, a retired army officer heading the rescue effort.