Forty-one Indian workers trapped in a collapsed road tunnel for 10 days were seen alive on camera for the first time Tuesday as workers attempted to create new passageways to free them.

One of the proposed routes is nearly half a kilometer long.

Looking exhausted and anxious, with thick beards, the men could be seen peering at the endoscopic camera sent by rescuers down the thin pipe through which air, food and water are being sent.

"We will bring you out safely, do not worry," rescuers can be heard telling the helmet-wearing men trapped inside as they gather near the camera, video released by state authorities shows.

Excavators have been removing tons of earth, concrete and rubble from the under-construction tunnel in the northern Himalayan state of Uttarakhand since Nov. 12, after a portion of the tunnel collapsed.

But rescue efforts have been slow, complicated by falling debris as well as repeated breakdowns of crucial heavy drilling machines, with the Air Force having to twice airlift in new kit.