SILKYARA, India, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Rescuers in India hope to finish drilling through debris on Thursday and free 41 men trapped in a highway tunnel in the Himalayan region after a metal obstacle slowed progress, officials said. The men began the twelfth day of their ordeal confined in the 4.5-km (3-mile) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it caved in early on Nov. 12. Once the drill breaks through, officials said they plan to send rescuers through the evacuation pipe, using stretchers on wheels, to bring out the trapped men. [1/2]An ambulance arrives at the tunnel where workers are trapped after the tunnel collapsed in Uttarkashi in the northern state of Uttarakhand, India, November 23, 2023. REUTERS/Shankar Prasad Nautiyal Acquire Licensing RightsA rescue mission is currently underway at the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand to free 41 workers who are stuck inside following a landslide.

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Persons: Atul Karwal, Bhaskar Khulbe, Shankar Prasad Nautiyal, Pushkar Singh, Gabbar Singh Negi, Saba Ahmed, Narendra Modi's, YP Rajesh, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Authorities, Force, Rescuers, REUTERS, National Highways Authority, YP, Thomson Locations: SILKYARA, India, Uttarakhand, Uttarkashi, Pushkar