RESCUE teams were working around the clock today to remove debris to reach 40 workers who have been trapped for over two days after a tunnel collapsed in northern India. 

Authorities say they intend to push a  2.5-foot-wide steel pipe through an opening of excavated debris with the help of hydraulic jacks to safely pull out the stranded workers.

The tunnel collapsed on Sunday in Uttarakhand, a mountainous state dotted with Hindu temples that attract many pilgrims and tourists. 

The tunnel is part of the busy Chardham all-weather road, a flagship federal government project connecting various Hindu pilgrimage sites.

Senior government official Ranjit Sinha said that falling debris has been hindering the rescue operation and said that they expect to free the workers by Wednesday. 

He said that all the workers were alive and that they supplied them with water and dry food through a pipeline.

Lakshmi Pakhirai, mother of one of the workers, said: “Someone who is there in Uttarakhand called and told us that Souvik is fine and rescue workers have spoken to him. They said he is fine and healthy.”

Most of the workers stuck inside were migrant labourers from across the country.