The operation to free 41 Indian tunnel workers has entered the final stage, officials say, with rescuers just a few metres away from the trapped men.
Ambulances are on standby and disaster response teams are ready to enter the tunnel entrance equipped with stretchers and other tools to carry the workers to safety.
The men have been trapped in the tunnel at Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand state for 11 days since a portion of the under-construction tunnel collapsed during a landslide on 12 November.
Anticipation is building up among the family members of the workers, many of whom are waiting outside the Silkyara tunnel entrance, as officials say they expect the workers to be out by the end of the day.
International tunnelling expert Arnold Dix, who reached the tunnel site this morning, told ANI that they are now close and it is like being at the “front door and ... knocking on it”.
“We know that the guys are there on the other side,” he said.