Rescuers are 16 feet away from 41 Indian workers trapped for over 2 weeks in tunnel, official says

NEW DELHI (AP) — Officials in India say rescuers are 5 meters (about 16.4 feet) away from the 41 construction workers who have been trapped in a collapsed mountain tunnel in the country’s north for over two weeks, raising hopes they may be freed soon. Kirti Panwar, a state government spokesperson, said Tuesday about a dozen men had worked overnight to manually dig through rocks and debris, taking turns to drill using hand-held drilling tools and clearing out the muck as they approach what is hoped to be the final stretch of the rescue operation. The workers have been trapped since Nov. 12 when a landslide in Uttarakhand state caused a portion of the 2.8-mile tunnel they were building to collapse.