UPDATE 3 - All 41 workers trapped under collapsed tunnel rescued after 17 days in India

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By Ahmad Adil

NEW DELHI (AA) – After 17 days of efforts, India on Tuesday rescued all 41 workers who were trapped in a collapsed tunnel, officials said on Tuesday.

Devendra Patwal, an official in the state of Uttarakhand, told Anadolu that all 41 workers have been rescued. “They are fit and healthy,” he said.

The rescued workers are undergoing health check-ups, according to officials.

As the news of the rescue spread, locals distributed sweets among the rescue workers present at the incident site.

Before the workers were rescued, ambulances and medical teams arrived at the incident site in the state of Uttarakhand. A temporary medical facility was set up at the mouth of the tunnel, according to officials.

Earlier today, teams completed laying rescue pipes in the Silkyara Tunnel.

A massive rescue operation was launched in the state's Uttarkashi district on Nov. 12 when the under-construction Silkyara Tunnel collapsed, cutting the 41 workers off from the rest of the tunnel, kept alive only through supplies sent through a pipe.

The rescue operation had been marred by multiple glitches, delaying the workers’ rescue. Earlier, an estimated 60 meters (197 feet) of debris needed to be cleared to push through a pipe, to reach the trapped workers, according to rescue officials.

The authorities brought in men called “rat miners” who began drilling through the rocks and gravel by hand on Monday evening.

Rat miners drill manually mostly in narrow passages and work mostly in mines.