The district magistrate of Uttarkashi, Abhishek Ruhela, assured that the workers are safe and are receiving water and food through pipes.

Rescue teams comprising national and state disaster response forces and other agencies and experts supported by the central and national governments were deployed at the site to remove the debris, Anshu Manish Khalko, director of the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation said.

The incident occurred yesterday morning when a landslide caused a part of the tunnel to collapse about 150 meters inside.

According to authorities, the tunnel will serve as an all-weather passable road on the Rishikesh-Yamunotri National Highway.

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