Rescuers in India have freed 41 workers who had been trapped in a collapsed Himalayan tunnel for 17 days.
Miners drilled the final section by hand to reach the workers in the 4.5km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand.
The men, who were brought out in wheeled stretchers through a 90cm (3ft) wide pipe, were taken to hospital for check-ups. No one was injured.
Marathon efforts to free them from the Silkyara tunnel which collapsed on 12 November overcame numerous setbacks.
The mission was ultimately completed on Tuesday evening thanks to the efforts of a group of “rat-hole” miners, who used hand-held drills to break through the rock.
India’s president Droupadi Murmu wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that she was “relieved and happy” to hear the men had been freed. She also praised the rescue effort, which she said was met with obstacles that had been “a testament of human endurance”.
The workers were greeted with wild cheers and flower garlands as they emerged from the tunnel.
Friends, family and local residents gathered outside the tunnel, setting off firecrackers and distributing sweets.
Since early in the rescue, those above ground were able to communicate via walkie-talkies with the men, who were supplied with oxygen, food and water through a separate narrow pipe.
Full story: http://bbc.com
