India tunnel rescue efforts paused over fears of cave-in

Indian rescuers said on Saturday that they had paused efforts to reach 40 men trapped in a collapsed road tunnel in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand after a cracking sound created a "panic situation" over the possibility of a further cave-in.

Excavators have been removing debris from the under-construction road tunnel since Sunday after a portion of the tunnel, the workers were building collapsed. The weeklong rescue efforts have been slowed by the continued falling of debris as well as repeated breakdowns of the crucial heavy drilling machines.

Rescuers have been communicating with the trapped men using radios. Food, water, oxygen and medicine have also been sent to the trapped workers via a six-inch-wide pipe.