India tunnel collapse rescue sees success as "rat miners" reach 41 men trapped for 17 days

New Delhi — Rescuers finally reached 41 men trapped in a Himalayan highway tunnel in northern India Tuesday after 17 days. The breakthrough, after a series of failed attempts, was achieved by a team of "rat miners" digging manually through the huge mound of debris that filled a section of the tunnel during a partial collapse on Nov. 12.

The rat-hole miners, experts in a traditional method of coal mining still used widely in India, were called in only on Monday after more than two weeks of failed attempts to reach the stranded workers using heavy machinery.

The team of 24 rat miners started work Monday to drill through the debris pile manually and create a narrow passageway to the trapped men.