With the auger machine encountering obstacles time and again, the rescue operation to pull out 41 workers trapped in the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel for the past two weeks in Uttarkashi has been delayed, and rescuers are now considering switching over to manual drilling.

“It may take a ‘few more days’ for the rescue operation to get over,” an official involved in the rescue operation told HT on the condition of anonymity.

Rescue teams were not able to move even an inch closer to the 41 workers trapped in the collapsed Silkyara tunnel by November 24 evening, the official said.

On Friday, the US-made auger machine hit a metal object in the debris and the shaft of the machine stuck in the metal object when the machine was pushed back on Friday night. The shaft is a key component of the auger machine and consists of a long cylindrical rod that connects the drilling head to the power source of the machine.

That snag was set right earlier in the day, and the auger machine was restarted. But after a brief, the operation had to be stopped again for the third time in three days.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had also said Friday that there has been no progress in the movement of pipe through debris in the Silkyara tunnel since Thursday.

“It is a big setback for us and could delay the rescue operation for a few more days. First, we have to try to take out the remaining shaft from the pipes and have to be cautious at the same time. Pulling back the shaft could also damage the pipes that we have inserted through the debris. It could take us to stretch and all our efforts can go in vain,” said the official mentioned above.

“We are also considering the option of manual drilling for the remaining part to be penetrated through the debris. But it would be a slow process since a person had to go inside the narrow pipes and operate manually,” he said.

Meanwhile, the machine for vertical drilling by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) may also start working from the top of the tunnel.

Officials working to rescue 41 workers trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand’s Silkyara for the past 14 days were unable to make any progress through the debris on Friday as the drilling could not resume a day after a metal object in the debris damaged the blades of the machine.

Drilling still remains through another 10-12 metres of debris even after the auger machine has managed to cut through 46.8 metres. Once drilling is complete evacuation pipes will be installed to bring out 41 trapped workers.

Since this is at least the sixth time that rescue officials have faced obstructions in the drilling process, officials said they have now used ground penetration radar (GPR) to scan the remaining debris.