Rescue mission enters third day after tunnel collapse traps 40 people in India

Rescue efforts have entered the third day after parts of a road tunnel collapsed and trapped 40 construction workers in India.

On Sunday, the site in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand, was hit by a landslide which led to a widespread search for a missing crew working on the tunnel.

Police confirmed that all of the workers are safe and that they have been supplied with oxygen and water.

In the latest, more than 150 rescue workers are driving a steel pipe - with a width of 90cm - through the rubble so the trapped men can escape, the government’s highway and infrastructure company said.

Massive construction of buildings and roadways have taken place in recent years in Uttarakhand.

The trapped workers were building part of the Chardham all-weather road, a flagship federal government project connecting various Hindu pilgrimage sites.

The collapsed portion of the three mile tunnel is about 200 metres from the entrance, officials told the Press Trust of India news agency.

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami said: "The rescue team and expert team are making full efforts to rescue all the trapped workers quickly."

In a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, he added that teams were directed to "work expeditiously to seek alternative help in relief and rescue operations and also to install other necessary machines at ground level to rescue the stranded people."

In January, Uttarakhand state authorities moved hundreds of people to temporary shelters after a temple collapsed and cracks appeared in over 600 houses because of the sinking of land in and around Joshimath town in the region.

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