Rescue effort underway as 40 workers trapped in tunnel collapse

A rescue effort is underway in India after 40 construction workers were trapped by a tunnel collapse in India.

The workers were building a section of tunnel in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand when part of it collapse in a landslide on Sunday morning.

Authorities in the area have been able to contact the men and they are being supplied with oxygen, food and water.

They were working on a section of tunnel between Silkyara and Dandalgaon, part of the Brahmakhal-Yamunotri National Highway, when the collapse occurred.

India’s National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and police have launched a rescue operation that will involve digging through several metres of debris.

The tunnel project is part of a new highway network to improve access to famous pilgrimage sites in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand.