Rescuers have successfully drilled approximately halfway through the debris that fell, aiming to reach 41 workers who have been trapped for ten days inside a collapsed tunnel in the Indian Himalayas, an official stated on Wednesday.

The men have been confined within the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since its collapse on November 12, with authorities assuring their safety and provision of light, oxygen, food, water, and medicines, according to Reuters.

As part of the rescue effort, workers have managed to drill through 32 meters (105 feet) of an estimated 60 meters (197 ft) that needs clearing to create a wide enough passage for the men to crawl out. Deepak Patil, a retired army officer leading the rescue operation, provided this update.

On Tuesday, the first images from within the tunnel surfaced, revealing workers in white and yellow hardhats standing in the confined space and communicating with rescuers. This was made possible after a medical endoscopy camera was inserted through a smaller pipeline.

Although authorities have not disclosed the cause of the tunnel collapse, the region is susceptible to landslides, earthquakes, and floods. Challenges in drilling through the mountainous terrain have impeded the efforts to extract the trapped individuals.