Sunday’s landslide in a tourist-friendly mountainous state of north India caused the collapse of a portion of an under-construction road tunnel, trapping over thirty workers, according to officials.

Rescue operations are ongoing, and oxygen is being poured into the collapsed section of the tunnel through a conduit to assist workers in breathing, according to Manohar Tamta, a state relief official in Uttarakhand.

“It will take some time to bring them out,” Tamta said.

A state government official was quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency as saying that the personnel have transmitted signals indicating their safety.

“I am in touch with the officials on the spot and constantly monitoring the situation,” said the top state elected official, Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Approximately 200 meters (500 feet) from the entrance, according to police officer Arpan Yaduvanshi, is the collapsed section of the tunnel. Additionally, food is being sent to the stranded employees, he was quoted as saying by PTI.

Approximately 160 rescuers from state and federal disaster relief agencies are reaching the workers using excavators and excavation equipment.

The Hindu temple-adorned state of Uttarakhand attracts a tremendous number of pilgrims and visitors annually. Through the years, it has grown substantially due to the construction of numerous structures and roads. The Chardham all-weather road, which connects numerous Hindu pilgrimage locations, is a flagship initiative of the federal government.

State authorities relocated hundreds of people to temporary shelters in January due to the subsidence of land in the vicinity of Joshimath town and the subsequent collapse of a temple and the appearance of fissures in more than 600 dwellings.