Rescue operations are near a breakthrough as the pipe has to be pushed for another two metres to reach the 41 workers who have been trapped in the Silkyara tunnel for 16 days, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said on Tuesday, reported news agency PTI.

As many as 12 rat-hole mining experts were called in to finish the last stretch of drilling by using hand-held tools in a confined space after the broken parts of the auger drilling machine were removed from the rubbles, reported PTI.