SILKYARA, India, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Rescuers on Monday brought in "rat miners" to drill through a narrow pipe and help pull out 41 construction workers trapped in a tunnel in the Indian Himalayas for more than two weeks after high-powered machines failed, officials said. The men, low-wage workers from India's poorest states, have been stuck in the 4.5km (3 miles) tunnel in Uttarakhand state since it collapsed on Nov. 12. The men have been getting food, water, light, oxygen and medicines through a pipe but efforts to dig a tunnel have run into a series of snags with machines. "Rat mining" is a primitive, hazardous and controversial method used in India mostly to remove coal deposits through narrow passages. Mishra visited the site and spoke to the trapped men through a communication link.

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Persons: Rakesh Rajput, Francis Mascarenhas, Harpal Singh, Mahmood Ahmad, Narendra Modi's, P.K, Mishra, Sakshi Dayal, YP Rajesh, Ed Osmond Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Government, Organisation, Authorities, YP, Thomson Locations: SILKYARA, India, Uttarakhand, Uttarkashi, Char, New Delhi