Dozens of construction workers have been pulled alive from metal containers after they were trapped by a deadly Himalayan avalanche for around 36 hours, according to authorities in northern India.

Officials in India say more than 40 construction workers are missing after an avalanche hit their camp in Uttarakhand state.

Dozens of construction workers have been pulled out alive from metal containers after they were buried by an avalanche in the Himalayas in India's Uttarakhand state. They survived - some as long as nearly two days - as the containers in which they were living had enough oxygen to sustain them until rescuers could dig them out,

An avalanche in a remote part of India killed eight road-construction workers, but the toll likely would have been much higher were it not for metal containers the workers were using as temporary housing.

Dozens of construction workers have been rescued alive after being buried for nearly two days in metal containers following a powerful avalanche in Uttarakhand, northern India, according to officials.