Indian rescuers, digging through earth and rocks with bare hands, were today within two metres of the 41 labourers who have been trapped in a collapsed tunnel in the Himalayan mountains in Uttarakhand for 16 days, the state's Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said.

Neeraj Khairwal, Uttarakhand secretary and nodal officer for the Silkayara rescue operation, said, "...As of now, we have pushed in the [rescue] pipe 55.3 metres. Only a little more distance remains...It might be somewhere between 57-59 metres ... It might take a few more hours if there are no more hurdles ... By evening, we are hoping ... Let's pray and hope for the best."

Earlier in the day, Dhami told reporters at the tunnel site in Uttarkashi district that the breakthrough point is 57 metres.