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Rescue operations have been going on for over a fortnight in Uttarakhand

By Anant Zanane in Uttarkashi and Nikhila Henry in Delhi

BBC News

Authorities are working on new ways to reach the 41 Indian workers trapped inside a tunnel in Uttarakhand state after the main rescue plan suffered a major delay.

Until now, rescuers were drilling a hole horizontally through the rocks to allow the men to crawl through.

But the operation was halted after the drilling machine broke down on Friday.

The workers have been stuck for two weeks after a part of the tunnel collapsed due to a landslide.

The operation has been challenging from the beginning, mainly due to the presence of falling boulders, loose soil and metal inside the tunnel.

On Friday, the rescuers seemed to be making steady progress when the drilling machine broke down inside the tunnel after getting stuck on pieces of metal that have been mixed in with the debris.

The machine was completely removed on Monday morning.