The rescue efforts to reach the 41 workers trapped inside the Silkyara-Barkot tunnel in Uttarakhand resumed Thursday morning after the drilling was stopped for more than 12 hours due to an obstruction caused by a thick iron garter.

Portions of the tunnel had collapsed following a landslide on November 12, leaving the workers trapped behind a huge mound of debris. The tunnel, about 30 km from the district headquarters of Uttarkashi and a seven-hour drive from Dehradun, is part of the Char Dham all-weather road project of the central government.

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As the rescue teams prepare to drill the last 12 meters of an escape passage formed to reach the workers, sources said the drilling resumed at 6 am on Thursday.

“… drilling had to be halted Wednesday evening around 5-6 pm. Auger machine was stuck at 45 meters due to obstruction caused by a thick iron garter or rod. It took nearly 10 hours to cut the iron and resume the rescue work around 6 am on Thursday,” an official looking after the rescue efforts said on condition of anonymity.

He said although the drilling has resumed, the escape passage work is unlikely to be over soon. He said the workers could only be reached by Thursday evening or in the night only if the drilling remains unobstructed.

“In fact, the escape passage drilling could not move beyond 45 meters till Thursday morning,” the official rued.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Minister of State General V K Singh are camping at the site in the hope that good news would reach them any minute.

Singh reached the accident site with a team of seven technicians to monitor the ongoing rescue operation and evacuation of the workers.

Besides a 40-bed makeshift hospital has been readied at the Chinayalisaur airstrip where workers will be taken to immediately after evacuation. The health department has also kept 40 ambulances along with a fleet of medical team stand by to carry the evacuated workers to the helipad.

“We hope to reach and evacuate the workers trapped inside the tunnel soon. As the makeshift hospital, ambulance services, and medical teams have been readied, AIIMS Rishikesh has also been alerted to be prepared in case of any emergency,” Dhami added.