President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed great satisfaction and hailed the rescue workers after they pulled out all 41 trapped workers from inside the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi alive.
The NDRF and SDRF teams completed the daring rescue operation just before 9pm on Tuesday.
PM Modi not only praised the trapped workers for "courage and patience" but also took to congratulate the officials who rescued them from certain death inside the tunnel.
"The success of the rescue operation of our labor brothers in Uttarkashi is making everyone emotional.
"I want to say to the friends who were trapped in the tunnel that your courage and patience is inspiring everyone. I wish you all well and good health.
"It is a matter of great satisfaction that after a long wait these friends of ours will now meet their loved ones. The patience and courage that all these families have shown in this challenging time cannot be appreciated enough.
"I also salute the spirit of all the people associated with this rescue operation. His bravery and determination have given new life to our labor brothers. Everyone involved in this mission has set an amazing example of humanity and teamwork," PM Modi tweeted in Hindi.
Around 8 pm, an ambulance with the worker sitting in the vehicle left the mouth of the tunnel and was headed to a community health centre.
An official said rescue workers had broken through the last stretch of the rubble at about 7 pm.
NDRF and SDRF men entered the steel chute to reach the trapped workers and were bringing them out on wheeled-stretchers one by one, said a rescuer.
"I feel relieved and happy to learn that all the workers trapped in a tunnel in Uttarakhand have been rescued. Their travails over 17 days, as the rescue effort met with obstacles, have been a testament of human endurance.
"The nation salutes their resilience and remains grateful to them for building critical infrastructure, even at great personal risk, far away from their homes. I congratulate the teams and all experts who have acted with incredible grit and determination to perform one of the most difficult rescue missions in history," President Murmu tweeted.
