At least forty workers were trapped in the collapse of a road tunnel under construction in northern India on Sunday, November 12, a rescue official said.

“About 200 meters of the tunnel collapsed», stated to AFP Durgesh Rathodi, an emergency services official, from a location located in the state of Uttarakhand. “40 or 41 workers were trapped inside. Oxygen was supplied through the debris but more debris fell as rescue teams attempted to clear the obstruction“, he explained.

The collapse occurred early Sunday in the Himalayan region when a group of workers left a construction site and a replacement crew arrived. A 4.5 km long tunnel is being constructed between Silkyara and Dandalgaon to connect two important Hindu shrines Uttarkashi and Yamnotri.

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In photos released by rescue teams, large concrete blocks can be seen blocking the tunnel, with bent metal rods on the roof protruding from the rubble. “Pray to God that the workers trapped in the tunnel will come out safely,” wrote Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on X (formerly Twitter). A local police officer told the agency Indian Trust Press that assistance is “very optimistic» regarding the results of the rescue, while realizing that it is “it’s hard to say how long it will take“.

The tunnel is part of the Char Dam Road Project spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is designed to improve connections to some of the country’s most popular Hindu shrines, as well as to areas close to the border with China. Accidents at large infrastructure construction sites are common in India.