Rescuers reach 41 trapped Indian tunnel workers after 16 days underground

Rescue teams have reached 41 construction workers traapped in a tunnel in the Indian Himalayas.

The men have neen stranded since 12 November when a landslide brought down debris in the tunnel in Uttarakhand state.

A team of ‘rat’ miners were drafted in to drill through a narrow pipe and help pull out the workers who have been marooned underground for more than two weeks after high-powered machines failed, officials said.

The process of pulling them out, one at a time on wheeled stretchers through a three-foot wide pipe was due to take a couple of hours.

The evacuation pipe has to be pushed through and debris cleared before rescue workers can crawl through and begin getting the men out, they said.

Dozens of rescue workers with ropes and ladders were lined up outside the tunnel and ambulances began arriving to take the 41 men to a hospital about 18 miles away.

Rescuers have been supplying oxygen, food including chickpeas, dried fruits, almonds and puffed rice and water through a narrow pipeline during the workers’ ordeal.

Authorities have not said what caused the cave-in but the region is prone to landslides, earthquakes and floods.

The tunnel is part of the £1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) Char Dham highway, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most ambitious projects, aimed at connecting four Hindu pilgrimage sites through an 550-mile network of roads.

(This story is being updated)