Indian Rescuers Close in on Workers Trapped in Himalayan Tunnel

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, on Nov. 16, 2023. Shankar Prasad Nautiyal/Reuters

SILKYARA, India—Rescuers hope to drill through the last third of the debris blocking a collapsed tunnel in the Indian Himalayas by early on Thursday to reach 41 workers trapped for ten days, an official said, so long as there are no new hurdles.

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.