A photo of one of the workers, who was rescued after the tunnel collapse after 17 days, being kissed by his father has won many hearts in India.
Manjit Chaudhary was among 41 workers trapped in the tunnel since November 12 following a landslide.
Chaudhary, 50, who goes by only one name, had traveled 600km from his village in Lakhimpur Kheri, Uttar Pradesh, to be closer to his son.
On Tuesday, he was waiting as rescuers pulled his son out.
Workers were trapped in the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarakhand state while working on its construction. A large pile of debris - full of rocks and metal objects - blocked their way out, preventing them from exiting the tunnel.
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Rescue officials quickly established contact with the workers and began supplying them with food, oxygen and water.
However, it took just over two weeks to get the workers out of the tunnel. The rescue operation was complicated and involved the use of excavators, drilling machines and many personnel.
When the men finally emerged from the tunnel on Tuesday evening, their friends, colleagues and family members were filled with joy.
Chaudhary, who had lost one of his sons in a construction accident in Mumbai earlier, was among those waiting outside the tunnel to welcome his son.
As soon as he saw Manjit, he pulled him, hugged him and gave him a kiss. This touching moment was captured by photographers and has since gone viral on the internet.
Chaudhary told the BBC that seeing his son emerge safely from the tunnel was "nothing short of a miracle".
"My dreams finally came true. God accepted my prayers and delivered my son safely to us", he emphasized.
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Chaudhary has also said that he blessed his son with a long life after Manjit touched his feet - a gesture of respect for family elders in India.
"I told him that I don't want to see him enter another tunnel, but let's see, he might insist on coming back," he said and added that if it wasn't his son, someone else's son would have to do it. this dangerous work.
Chaudhary had earlier told the BBC that he had pawned his wife's jewelery to raise funds to travel to Uttarakhand state.
His wife said she was devastated when she heard about the accident.
On Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights that was celebrated on November 12 this year, she said her house was in darkness as she worried about her son.
"I had already lost one son in a construction accident, I didn't want to lose another," she said, adding that the family would now celebrate Diwali as Manjit was rescued safely.
While still trapped in the tunnel, workers could have brief conversations with family members on two-way radios sent through pipes embedded in the debris.
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"Manjit would start telling me about the tunnel and it bothered me, so he would change the subject to lighten the mood," his mother said.
Translated by: Blerta Haxhiu
